ABSTRACT
Social theory has been heavily influenced by structuralism and poststructuralism. While many sciences use structures to think about the world, structuralism and post-structuralism view structure as both a thing and as a method. They hold that cultural symbols, customs, language and writing are far more dense than meets the eye. Some critics have argued that the theorists of structuralism and post-structuralism, such figures as Roland Barthes, Michael Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and Claude Lévi-Strauss, amongst others, are too loosely connected to constitute a distinct school of thought. There are, however, certain elements of structuralism that do link them. In particular, a focus on how language is central to social life is key to both structuralist and post-structualist social theory. While often unacknowledged, Karl Marx is the first structural thinker, and his economic theory of exchange is essential to structural thought. I briefly review Marx and Saussure, before examining the work of Lévi-Strauss and Derrida. I conclude by outlining some criticisms of structuralism and post-structuralism.
