structuralism

Structuralism is a theoretical approach that seeks to understand human culture, language, and thought by analyzing the underlying structures that shape them. It emphasizes relationships, systems, and rules over individual elements or events, arguing that meaning emerges from the position of components within a larger framework.

The foundational idea is rooted in Ferdinand de Saussure’s linguistics. Saussure argued that language is a system of signs whose meaning derives from the differences and relations among signs in the code of langue, rather than from direct reference to the external world. He distinguished between the signifier and the signified and emphasized synchrony—the study of structures at a given time—over diachrony, or historical change.

In anthropology, structuralism is associated with Claude Lévi-Strauss, who proposed that human cultures share universal cognitive structures. By comparing myths, kinship, and social practices, he argued that cultures express the same underlying binary oppositions and deep grammars that organize human thought.

In literary theory and semiotics, structuralists analyze texts as systems of signs governed by underlying codes and rules. Thinkers such as Roland Barthes and Algirdas Greimas explored how narratives, myths, and discourse reflect latent structures rather than individual authors’ intentions, seeking patterns that recur across cultures and genres.

Structuralism faced criticism for focusing on abstract systems at the expense of historical context, contingency, and human agency. From the 1960s onward, post-structuralist approaches challenged the notion of stable structures, highlighting language’s instability, power relations, and subjectivity. Despite criticisms, structuralist methods have left a lasting impact on linguistics, anthropology, literary studies, and the analysis of media and culture.