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As issues and circumstances investigated by anthropologists are becoming ever more diverse, the need to address social affiliation in contemporary situations of mobility, urbanity, transnational connections, individuation, media, and capital flows, has never been greater. Thinking Through Sociality combines a review of classical theories with recent theoretical innovations across a wide range of issues, locales, situations and domains. In this book, an international group of contributors train attention on the concepts of disjuncture, field, social space, sociability, organizations and network, mid-range concepts that are "good to think with." Neither too narrowly defined nor too sweeping, these concepts can be used to think through a myriad of ethnographic situations.
List of contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction:Thinking through Sociality: The Importance of Mid-Level Concepts
Vered Amit with Sally Anderson, Virginia Caputo, John Postill, Deborah Reed-Danahay, and Gabriela Vargas-Cetina Chapter 1. Disjuncture: The Creativity of, and Breaks in, Everyday Associations and Routines
Vered Amit Chapter 2. Fields: Dynamic Configurations of Practices, Games and Socialities
John Postill Chapter 3. Social Space: Distance, Proximity, and Thresholds of Affinity
Deborah Reed-Danahay Chapter 4. Sociability: The Art of Form
Sally Anderson Chapter 5. Organizations: From Corporations to Ephemeral Associations
Gabriela Vargas-Cetina Chapter 6. Network: The Possibilities and Mobilizations of Connections
Vered Amit and Virginia Caputo Epilogue: Sociality and Uncertainty: Between Avowing and Disavowing Concepts in Anthropology
Nigel Rapport Notes on Contributors
About the author
Vered Amit is Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Concordia University. She is the author or editor of 13 books including Young Men in Uncertain Times (Berghahn, co-edited with Noel Dyck) and Community, Cosmopolitanism and the Problem of Human Commonality (Pluto, co-authored with Nigel Rapport).
Summary
As issues and circumstances investigated by anthropologists are becoming ever more diverse, the need to address social affiliation in contemporary situations of mobility, urbanity, transnational connections, individuation, media, and capital flows, has never been greater. Thinking Through Sociality combines a review of classical theories with recent theoretical innovations across a wide range of issues, locales, situations and domains. In this book, an international group of contributors train attention on the concepts of disjuncture, field, social space, sociability, organizations and network, mid-range concepts that are “good to think with.” Neither too narrowly defined nor too sweeping, these concepts can be used to think through a myriad of ethnographic situations.
Additional text
“[The volume] advances conceptual tools for contemporary anthropology and in provides a valuable source of overviews of the examined concepts, stimulating reading on how to think the configuration of social life.” · Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
“I don’t know of a book that explores [sociality] so centrally and effectively… Each chapter and concept has multiple applications across a range of research and conceptualization… Overall, I enjoyed reading this unpacking of sociality through different lenses very much, and I am sure others will too.” · Caroline Knowles, Goldsmiths, University of London
