Anthropological Notebooks, XXII/1, 2016
Amit, Vered (ed.). 2015. Thinking through Sociality. An Anthropological Interrogation of Key Concepts. New York, Oxford: Berghahn Books. 210 pp. Hb.: $90.00/£55.00. ISBN: 9781782385851.
This book is an inspiring reflection on the conceptual grounds of anthropology. The umbrella concept of sociality is addressed through the six related "key concepts": disjuncture, fields, social space, sociability, organisation, and network. Each concept is elaborated in one of the chapters written by Vered Amit, Sally Anderson, Virginia Caputo, John Postill, Deborah Reed-Danahay, Gabriela Vargas-Cetina, and Nigel Rapport (Epilogue).
Why did the authors select these concepts to explore sociality? They are the so-called 'mid-level concepts', between the particular and general level: 'each concept is good to think with for some issues and situations, but it is not intended to cover all or even most of the ways through which sociality is revealed' (p. 8). The analysed concepts are not intended to 'serve as a master theoretical framework', (p. 8). They are chosen because they have proved to be useful. This is evident in many chapters, since the authors use their research experience to show different ways to operationalise these concepts.
In Chapter 1, Vered Amit discusses the concept of disjuncture. The author differentiates between the theories that conceptualise disjuncture as extraordinary (what Latour has named "sociologists of association"), and the opposite approach, in which disjuncture is 'the starting point, rather than the end point of analysis' (p. 30). Among the "sociologists of association", there are three perspectives: historical transformation (Durkheim, Simmel, the Chicago School, Beck), community formation (Barth, Cohen), and the "transitions between states of being" approach (Victor Turner). Within the opposite approach, Bruno Latour, Karin Barber and Michel de Certeau are interested in how rules, institutions, and organisations are possible, without taking them for granted. Several examples from the ethnography of disjuncture are used in the chapter: long-term disjunctures (international consultancy jobs), or everyday disjunctures found in public places (such as coffee shops).
In Chapter 2, John Postill argues for a more plural notion offield(s), beyond Bourdieu's famous concept. Besides the Gestalt tradition, as a precursor of the modern concept, another three traditions are proposed: Lewin's social-psychological theory, DiMaggio and Powell's inter-organisational theory, and the Manchester School of anthropology (Victor Turner). Postill mentions his research that was conducted in the Malaysian suburb of Subang Jaya (the "internet field" and residential affairs) to show the applicability of the hybrid notion of field (Bourdieu's and the Manchester School's conceptualisations).
In Chapter 3, Debora Reed-Danahay discusses the concept of social space and its correlates (the concepts of network and field) within the "spatial turn" in anthropology. This turn has brought about a new understanding of borders and physical space: less rigid borders with changeable endurance. The authors who have contributed to this debate are Gluckman, Geertz, Evans-Pritchard, Redcliff-Brown, Levi-Strauss, Barth, Goffman, Sorokin, Simmel, and Lefebvre. Bourdieu's notion of space is described in detail, even though his concept is
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Book reviews
rather used as a model for social stratification, than for description of physical space. In order to illustrate Bourdieu's notion of social space, Reed-Danahay refers to her ethnographic study of the "flag protest" among Vietnamese immigrants in the USA.
In Chapter 4, Sally Anderson explores the heuristic potential of sociability. The chapter starts with a discussion about differences between the concepts of sociality and sociability and then moves on to the notion of sociability. Simmel's ideal type of sociability is discussed in detail: his idea of pure sociability, which is form-focused and separated from "goal-oriented life", is criticizised for not corresponding to ethnographic experience. Anderson discusses another critical aspect of the notion of sociability: distinguishing the heuristic and normative aspect. The polythetic nature of the concept is presented through different examples, including a study of neighbourhood sociability among middle-class Israeli women or a study of friendship sociability in high schools in Canada.
In Chapter 5, the concept of organisation is presented by Gabriela Vargas-Cetina. The author discusses several related concepts: organisation, corporation, cooperative, and (ephemeral) association. Vargas-Cetina focuses on the anthropological understanding of organisation: 'any group of people could become an organisation, in the sense of having common purposes.'
In Chapter 6, Vered Amit and Virginia Caputo analyse the concept of network in anthropology. The authors differentiate between the two conceptualisations of network in anthropology: personal (the Manchester School) and structural/cultural (closer to sociological legacy). The works of Clyde Mitchell (the Manchester School), Castells, Latour, Strathern, and Riles are discussed in this chapter. However, the contemporary coexisting discourse on social capital in sociology and economics is neglected (for example, discussion on children's social capital in British sociology). An interesting example of operationalisation is given in the closing remarks: a study of children's networks in an after-school programme at a Canadian community centre, based on the "new paradigm" in the sociology of childhood (children are studied as social actors).
What makes this book relevant for the field of anthropological theory is primarily its purpose: initiating a discussion about the concepts that are shared among the social sciences and identify the anthropological value-added. However, sometimes it seems that sociological tradition remains predominant (Bourdieu, Latour, Simmel). The book could be more coherent, especially regarding the implied links between the meta-concept of sociality and other concepts. Cross-referencing is necessary discussions about similar concepts (network and association). However, some interesting linkages are made in the chapters about the social space and field, and also in the Epilogue written by N. Rapport. The Epilogue is an original synthesis of the six concepts through a very inspiring excursus on Montaigne. Finally, the book is evidently influenced by the authors' preference for certain theoretical positions (Latour and Bourdieu). It would be interesting to read another similar book about the conceptual grounds in anthropology, which would aim to re-evaluate different mid-level "key concepts" under a different "umbrella concept".
SUZANA IGNJATOVIC
Institute of Social Sciences (Serbia)
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