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7 - From Harrison C. White, Identity and Control

from II - Early Foundations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2021

Edited by
Mario L. Small ,
Brea L. Perry ,
Bernice Pescosolido  and
Edward B. Smith
Mario L. Small
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
Brea L. Perry
Affiliation:
Indiana University, Bloomington
Bernice Pescosolido
Affiliation:
Indiana University, Bloomington
Edward B. Smith
Affiliation:
Northwestern University, Illinois
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Summary

In the mid-1990s Harrison White was in the midst of his “linguistic turn,” which began with the publication of Identity and Control in 1992. During that period, he engaged like-minded scholars in discussions of time, identity, language and networks. Social ties, he argued, are not static entities, but rather are generated by reporting attempts amidst contending efforts at control. Since ties are multiple, fluid, and narratively constructed, he saw the new challenge for network analysis as understanding the link between temporality, language and social relations. I discuss the tension between formalization and hermeneutics in White’s work; he sought to put networks in motion, providing a theoretical framework for understanding the linguistic and discursive processes by which networks are constituted and transformed. Finally, I present four takeaways from Identity and Control that continue to resonate with social science research: (1) the ephemeral, contingent nature of “persons,” (2) the origins of social structure in intersecting struggles for stability and control: (3) the co-constitution of narratives and networks; and (4) the generativity of ambiguity in “getting action” amidst contests for control.

Keywords

networksidentitynarrativeslanguagedynamicstimeinteractioncontingencyambiguityformalization
Type
Chapter
Information
Personal Networks
Classic Readings and New Directions in Egocentric Analysis
 , pp. 185 - 198
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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