Margaret Archer

Margaret Scotford Archer ( born January 20, 1943) is a British sociologist.

Archer studied at the London School of Economics and taught sociology at the University of Cambridge (1964-1966) and the University of Reading ( 1966-1973 ). Since 1973 she has worked at the University of Warwick since 1979 as a professor. 1986 to 1990 she was President of the International Sociological Association.

Her work focuses on: macro sociology, cultural sociology, sociology of education, and comparative European studies.

Archer's book Culture and Agency: The Place of Culture in Social Theory, in which she deals with the relationship between culture, social structure and human action, is considered one of the most important works of sociology.

Writings (selection )

• Social Origins of Educational Systems. Sage, London 1979.
• Culture and Agency: The Place of Culture in Social Theory. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1988, revised 1996
• Realist Social Theory: The Morphogenetic Approach. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1996