Towards Relational Sociology argues that social worlds comprise networks of interaction and relations. Crossley asserts that relations are lived trajectories of iterated interaction, built up through ...a history of interaction, but also entailing anticipation of future interaction. In addition, he demonstrates how networks comprise multiple dyadic relations which are mutually transformed through their combination. On this conceptual basis he builds a relational foundation for sociology.
Over the course of the book, three central sociological dichotomies are addressed - individualism/holism, structure/agency and micro/macro – and utilised as a foil against which to construct the case for relational sociology. Through this, Crossley is able to argue that neither individuals nor ‘wholes’ - in the traditional sociological sense - should take precedence in sociology. Rather sociologists should focus upon evolving and dynamic networks of interaction and relations.
The book covers many of the key concepts and concerns of contemporary sociology, including identity, power, exchange and meaning. As such it is an invaluable reference tool for postgraduate students and researchers alike.
Nick Crossley is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, UK. He has published on a wide range of issues in sociology, most recently on social network analysis.
'...there is no doubt that N. Crossley has made a significant contribution to relational sociology. This is exactly the kind of work we need at this point, if we want to move it forward. Any social scientist interested in relational sociology should read and criticize this book carefully.' -Francois Depelteau, Laurentian University in the Canadian Journal of Sociology vol 36 no 4
'...clear, fresh and ambitious...'
'...elements of the social cosmos underplayed...by Bourdieu are fruitfully brought to the fore. Crossley’s intriguing rereading of Foucault through network lenses, for example, offers a potentially fertile means of investigating the circuits of symbolic power.'
- Will Atkinson , University of Bristol in Sociology, vol 46 no 1
Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. Individualism, Holism and Beyond 3. Mapping the Territory 4. From Strategy to Empathy 5. Mind, Meaning and Intersubjectivity 6. I, Me and the Other 7. Exchange, Sociability and Power 8. Structure, Agency and Social Worlds 9. Networks, Conventions and Resources: The Structure(s) of Social Worlds Bibliography Index
Crossley argues that music is a form of social interaction, interwoven in the fabric of society and in constant interplay with its other threads. Musical interactions are often also economic ...interactions, for example, and sometimes political interactions. They can be forms of identity work, for both individuals and collectives, contributing to the reproduction or bridging of social divisions. Successive chapters of the book track and explore these interplays, in each case combining a critical consideration of existing literature with the development of an original, ‘relational’ approach to music sociology. The result is a grand sociological vision of music which captures not only music’s context but ‘the music itself’. The book will appeal to social scientists, musicologists and cultural scholars more widely.Crossley argues that music is a form of social interaction, interwoven in the fabric of society and in constant interplay with its other threads. Musical interactions are often also economic interactions, for example, and sometimes political interactions. They can be forms of identity work, for both individuals and collectives, contributing to the reproduction or bridging of social divisions. Successive chapters of the book track and explore these interplays, in each case combining a critical consideration of existing literature with the development of an original, ‘relational’ approach to music sociology. The result is a grand sociological vision of music which captures not only music’s context but ‘the music itself’. The book will appeal to social scientists, musicologists and cultural scholars more widely.
In this paper, reflecting the twin interests of François Dépelteau, I draw together the themes of ‘relationality’ and ‘process’. Having argued that the concept of ‘relations’ is central to sociology ...(and a fortiori ‘relational’ sociology), I discuss some of the problems associated with the concept. In this context I propose a processual conception. A social relation, I argue, is the ‘state of play’ in an interaction history between two actors and, as such, is always ‘in process’. Relations do not exist in isolation, however. They concatenate in complex networks, which are themselves always ‘in process’. The later sections of the paper discuss such networks and the mechanisms which drive their evolution across time.
Purpose
To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the strength of associations between social network size and clinical and functional outcomes in schizophrenia.
Method
Studies were ...identified from a systematic search of electronic databases (EMBASE, Medline, PsycINFO, and Web of Science) from January 1970 to June 2016. Eligible studies included peer-reviewed English language articles that examined associations between a quantitative measure of network size and symptomatic and/or functional outcome in schizophrenia-spectrum diagnoses.
Results
Our search yielded 16 studies with 1,929 participants. Meta-analyses using random effects models to calculate pooled effect sizes (Hedge’s
g
) found that smaller social network size was moderately associated with more severe overall psychiatric symptoms (
N
= 5,
n
= 467,
g
= − 0.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) = − 0.875, − 0.184,
p
= 0.003) and negative symptoms (
N
= 8,
n
= 577,
g
= − 0.75, 95% CI = − 0.997, − 0.512,
p
= 0.000). Statistical heterogeneity was observed
I
2
= 63.04%;
I
2
= 35.75%,) which could not be explained by low-quality network measures or sample heterogeneity in sensitivity analyses. There was no effect for positive symptoms (
N
= 7,
n
= 405,
g
= − 0.19, 95% CI = 0.494, 0.110,
p
= 0.213) or social functioning (
N
= 3,
n
= 209,
g
= 0.36, 95% CI = − 0.078, 0.801,
p
= 0.107). Narrative synthesis suggested that larger network size was associated with improved global functioning, but findings for affective symptoms and quality of life were mixed.
Conclusion
Psychosocial interventions which support individuals to build and maintain social networks may improve outcomes in schizophrenia. The review findings are cross-sectional and thus causal direction cannot be inferred. Further research is required to examine temporal associations between network characteristics and outcomes in schizophrenia and to test theoretical models relating to explanatory or mediating mechanisms.
* Provides brief accounts of the central ideas behind key concepts of critical social theory * Prepares students to tackle primary texts and gives them a point of reference when they find themselves ...stuck * Is essential reading for undergraduates in sociology and across the social sciences.
This paper reflects upon Bourdieu’s concept of cultural fields, Becker’s concept of ‘art worlds’ and the concept of networks as developed in social network analysis. We challenge the distinction that ...Bourdieu makes between the objective ‘relations’ and ‘positions’ constitutive of ‘social space’ and visible social relationships. In contrast, we maintain that interaction is generative of social spaces and positions and should be integral to any account of them. Becker’s position is better from this perspective, but while Becker refers repeatedly to social networks, he fails to develop the concept or exploit its potential as a means of exploring social structures. Both Becker and Bourdieu have an underdeveloped conception of social connection which weakens their respective conceptions of the space of cultural production. Our proposed remedy is to use social network analysis to derive ‘positions’ and ‘relations’ between ‘positions’, as prioritized by Bourdieu, from data on concrete interactions and relations. This allows ‘world’ analysis to speak to the issues of field analysis without sacrificing its strengths. We illustrate our case by way of an analysis of two UK music scenes from the late 1970s.
This book examines the birth of punk in the UK and its transformation, within a short period of time, into post-punk. Deploying innovative concepts of ‘critical mass’, ‘social networks’ and ‘music ...worlds’, and using sophisticated techniques of ‘social network analysis’, it teases out the events and mechanisms involved in punk’s ‘micro-mobilisation’, its diffusion across the UK and its transformation in certain city-based strongholds into a variety of interlocking post-punk forms. Nick Crossley offers a detailed review of prior work in this area, a rich exploration of new empirical data and a highly innovative and robust approach to the study of ‘music worlds’. Written in an accessible style, this book is essential reading for anybody with an interest in either UK punk and post-punk or the impact of social networks on cultural life and the potential of social network analysis to explore this impact.
In this article I argue for a relational approach to the agency–structure problem. Structure has three dimensions from this perspective but, at its most fundamental, it is a network comprising social ...actors (human and corporate) and the relations connecting them. Defined thus structure has measurable properties which generate both opportunities and constraints for actors and which shape processes, such as diffusion, which affect and implicate them. Agency is integral to this model. Actors are the nodes of the network and their relations are built, maintained, modified and broken by way of their interactions. However, I argue that the human organism only fully becomes a social actor by way of interaction. In effect, both agency and structure are emergent properties of social interactions/relations which act back upon and shape those interactions/relations. In addition to resolving theoretical problems this approach has the advantage of facilitating empirical analysis of structure.
Habit and Habitus Crossley, Nick
Body & society,
06/2013, Letnik:
19, Številka:
2-3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
This article compares the concept of habitus, as formulated in the work of Mauss and Bourdieu, with the concept of habit, as formulated in the work of Merleau-Ponty and Dewey. The rationale for this, ...on one level, is to seek to clarify these concepts and any distinction that there may be between them – though the article notes the wide variety of uses of both concepts and suggests that these negate the possibility of any definitive definitions or contrasts. More centrally, however, the purpose of the comparison is to draw out a number of important issues and debates which, it is argued, further work must address if the concepts of habit and habitus are to continue to prove useful and illuminating in social science.
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