Agency interdisciplinary

Abstract

The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines Agency as the “capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power”. Agency thus is conceived as the capacity of an agent to act in our world. Tracing the concept of agency back to its sociological roots is simultaneously straightforward – since it is an omnipresent concept – and difficult to grasp. A significant reason for this arises from the different traditions and branches of research found in Germany and the US, and their differing usage of overlapping terminology. In the German academic discourse agency is, until recently, a little used term, usually equated with ‘action’ (Handlung), such as the very rarely used terms Handlungsbefähigung (the ability to act) or Handlungsermächtigung (the empowerment to act).