"Longing and Hope and Sadness and Anger": Disentangling the Social and the Human.

This article examines the emergence and limitations of "agency" as a central concept in social history, particularly its roots in a liberal-humanist anthropology that frames individuals as autonomous, rational actors. It critiques how this framework, especially in the context of American slavery, risks reducing social oppression to mere imperfections within liberal society rather than recognizing alternative social logics and collective possibilities beyond inclusion. The article highlights Walter Johnson's argument that agency should be understood not as an inherent individual trait but as inseparable from social structures, with human subjects shaped by historical conditions rather than preceding them. It further explores the methodological shift from humanist to poststructuralist and anti-humanist approaches, suggesting a renewed social history that acknowledges the complex, dialectical relationship between structure and agency without relying on liberal individualism.