Network Analysis and Ethnographic Problems

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3-D Graphic of Relinking = Marriages=20 among Nomad Kin, color-coded by generations. Nodes are couples not = individuals,=20 so where downward lines meet it is a relative that is married. This is = called=20 relinking. The relinking structure and dynamic is a key to ethnographic=20 understanding. Names of some of the lineage ancestors are shown at the=20 top.

Network Analysis and Ethnographic Problems: Process Models of a = Turkish=20 Nomad Clan^[1]=20 is an anthropological and complexity science = book by social=20 anthropologists Douglas R. = White, University=20 of California, Irvine, and Ulla Johansen of the University = of=20 Cologne. It is considered an important publication in = anthropology[2]=20 and the political science of Central Asia ^[3].

The breakthrough is to code and portray the data of a longitudinal=20 ethnography of a given people as a complex interactive = system, in this case from an ethnogenesis in = the late=20 18th century in Turkey to the present date, based on the detailed = genealogies=20 and chronicles recorded in fieldwork carried out between 1956 and 2004 = recorded=20 by ethnographer Ulla Johansen. The analysis of these data provides for = an=20 account of social dynamics relevant to many parts of the Middle = East.

1 Synopsis=20
2 Pedagogy=20
3 Chapter = 1=20
4 Chapter = 2=20
5 Chapter = 3=20
6 Chapter = 4=20
7 Chapter = 5=20
8 Chapter = 6=20
9 Chapter = 7=20
10 Chapter = 8=20
11 Chapter = 9=20
12 Chapter = 10=20
13 Chapter = 11=20
14 References=20
15 References and = footnotes=20
16 External = links=20

Synopsis

The basis for the book is the complete genealogical = network for a=20 nomad = community,=20 its history, and its migrants and migrations. These form a relational = web not=20 just for description but for analysis of social dynamics. The picture = that=20 emerges is one of a complexly scalable social system that expands = through=20 reproduction, kinship alliances, and fissions, and overcomes internal = conflicts=20 and those with neighbors along routes of migration. These networks = constitute a=20 generative demographic engine for health, a potential for large sibling = groups,=20 and for extensive cooperation within and between these groups = constructed=20 through reciprocal ties of marriage. The book is lavishly illustrated = with=20 photos, network diagrams, and analytical tables showing how very simple=20 principles of cohesion and scalable alliances = between=20 families are able to organize this social system through a series of = shifting=20 articulations at a variety of social and spatial levels. Thus continual=20 reshuffling is capabable of moving, and does move individuals and groups = in the=20 society through a variety of transformations in relation to life = problems,=20 social problems, technological problems, and the transmission and = enrichment of=20 a highly complex cultural system. The book shows how these adjust = dynamically to=20 changing social conditions.

Pedagogy

This book makes major methodological, substantive, and theoretical = advances=20 for the disciplines of ethnography, social anthropology, and social = history; and=20 marks some new understandings of several of the many forms of social = complexity.=20 No previous work has been able to connect dynamical historic and social = network=20 analysis with changes that can be visualized and analyzed through time = in terms=20 of structure, interaction, and social change, using the actual concrete = data of=20 the ethnography, person by person, relation by relation, group by group, = change=20 by change. This is a level of integration hitherto never achieved in=20 anthropology. It builds on a methodology for analysis of structural = changes that=20 was developed by the lead author. Douglas R. = White had=20 previously developed new concepts and measures for the study of social = cohesion,=20 starting first with cohesion in kinship ties (structural endogamy) and = then=20 progressing to structural = cohesion=20 generally, which has since become one of the many major tools of network = analysis.

If the book combines complexity theory following lines of thought at = the Santa Fe = Institute=20 with a contribution to understanding of Middle Eastern social structure, = it is=20 through combining network visualization and analysis with the study of = the=20 dynamics of marriage choices. The book expands the theory of = social=20 practice to show how changes in the structure of a society's kinship = network=20 affect the development of social cohesion over time. By rigorously = examining the=20 genealogical networks of the Turkish nomad clan and associated clans = that are=20 studied, the authors explore how changes in network cohesion are = indicative of=20 key processes of social change. This approach alters in fundamental ways = the=20 anthropological concepts of social structure, organizational dynamics, = social=20 cohesion, marriage strategies, as well as the study of community = politics within=20 the dynamics of ongoing personal interaction.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 makes a strong argument about what can be learned, = in=20 parallel to in-depth ethnographic field study, from network analysis of = the very=20 material that the ethnographer collects systematically, but in pieces = and=20 chunks. Even for the best ethnographer, there is more to learn than what = can be=20 observed, discovered, or intuited, even by in-depth immersion in the = culture, or=20 from normal tabular comprehension of statistical data. The argument is = radical:=20 moving from person to person, site to site, household to household, = event to=20 event, conversation, the ethnographer (like any person, generally, that = takes in=20 information and new knowledge) is always in a position to take in the = patterns=20 and knowledge stored in a larger network only from a local perspective.=20 Immediate neighbors and their neighborhood may be known, but to move = further and=20 further out to the ensemble of links at successive distances takes you = into such=20 number and diversity of complex patterns that they simply cannot be = comprehended=20 directly as a complex ensemble of interactions, patterns, outcomes, and=20 processes. Levi-Strauss put = this very=20 nicely in Elementary = Structures of=20 Kinship (English edition 1969: 124-5) when he said approvingly, = quoting=20 another, "there must be a way to approach the study of kinship = systems=20 (italics added) which avoids their apparent and impossible complexity." = Viewing=20 the complexity of social life while lacking the modern tools of network = analysis, he=20 concluded that members of a society, like anthropologists themselves, = can only=20 fall back on mental models, abstracted systems, and norms, or a = structural=20 analysis of mental life. Chapter 1 of this book, however, goes on to = show some=20 simple principles by which the complexity of the actual concrete and=20 ever-changing networks of social life can be apprehended in ways that go = far=20 beyond even the trained eyes and ears of an ethnographer.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 then procedes to show how the genealogical data = recorded=20 from historical studies of communities, social classes, or members of=20 institutions or professions that are also intermarried with one another = are=20 easily coded and connected into a form easily read by a computer in a = way that=20 convey both the structural and the dynamical elements in a network as it = unfolds=20 in the temporal dimension. The connected network genealogy of the entire = set of=20 several thousand members and outmigrants of the nomad community is then=20 presented graphically with appendices and tables showing the simplicity = of the=20 formats used to code and connect the network. These genealogies are also = available interactively on the net, and have been avidly consulted by=20 descendants of these particular nomads who occupy all walks of life in = Turkey=20 today (where descent from nomads has become a matter of pride). These = community=20 level and network genealogies have a certain fascination in themselves, = but an=20 actual intervention by a Turkish legislator descended from one of these = lineages=20 is used in this chapter to exemplify how genealogies over many = generations are=20 corrected both for factual and sometimes political reasons as groups and = their=20 ancestries are reshaped over time.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 provides background to the field work and the = ethnography,=20 including the following elements: Islam, polygyny, demography, = economics,=20 exchange and inheritance, gender, lineages, preferences for marriage = with=20 relatives such as the father's brother's daughter that are inside the = lineage,=20 history, and the amazing absence of fixed authority in office. As with = many=20 nomad groups, leaders emerge out of interaction rather than asserting = authority=20 or being selected by higher authority. The simplest of principles of=20 self-organization and scalability =E2=80=93 the shifting expansion and = contraction of=20 fields of social action and cohesion =E2=80=93 are emblematic, in this = nomadic society,=20 of principles of social organization that are widespread in the Middle = East, and=20 relevant to public understanding.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 contains in short order the dilemmas of conflicting=20 anthropological theories of kinship: those of Levi-Strauss=E2=80= =99s=20 Elementary Structures, and Murdock=E2=80=99= s Social=20 Structure, both published in 1949, and Pierre Bourdieu=E2=80=99s = Outline of a=20 Theory of Practice, published in 1972. Middle Eastern kinship, = particularly=20 the Arabic pattern of privileged marriage within the patrilineage, makes = no=20 sense in the structuralist theory of marriage exchange nor in the = nuclearist=20 theory of blocks for extended families.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 develops the methods and foundational concepts for = the=20 network study of large kinship networks, small worlds and navigability = through=20 trust in kinship networks and scalable social complexity in social = organization.=20 The goal is not an abstract mathematical model of small = world or scale-free = networks=20 but realistic social network models based on ethnography and documented = social=20 processes.

Chapter 6

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Nomad clan, the 187 wives for the 253 relinked = (structurally=20 endogamous) couples

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Nomad clan, the 234 husbands for the 253 relinked=20 (structurally endogamous) couples

Chapter 6 reconstructs the past from the cross-corroborated = evidence=20 of oral tradition. Social memory, that is, overlapping shared memories = of=20 different individuals in a community, is shown to be a powerful basis = for=20 constructing a socially realistic set of networked and interpenetrating=20 histories. Interestingly, the stereotype of a male bias in Middle = Eastern=20 kinship disappears as the memories of female linkages historically is = 80% as=20 strong as that of males, in spite of a patrilineal and male-localized = social=20 structure. This is the chapter that begins the intensive computer = analysis of=20 the network data and begins to build a realistic rather than stereotyped = view of=20 the actual social network structure and the dynamics of change through = time.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is devoted to fractality, scalability, and the = fluidity of=20 kaleidoscopic emergent structures in Middle Eastern kinship, narratives, = concepts, language and social groupings. The methods of network analysis = that=20 are applied become more intensive as the analytic patterns begin to take = shape.=20 It is in this chapter that a new theory of complexity in kinship = organization,=20 very different from the idea of a complex system in kinship as = developed=20 by Levi-Strauss in contrast to his elementary systems. A = conception of=20 segmentary system begins to emerge that is quite different from = the=20 common segmentary = lineage=20 concept of anthropology textbooks.

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 develops an understanding of the evolutionary = dynamic of a=20 successful nomad adaptation where large sibling groups self-select for=20 collaborative network ties that ramify connections through trust in the = kinship=20 network while less well connected individuals or smaller groups of sibs = compete=20 by out-migration, moving to towns, villages and cities, coping not only = through=20 exodous from a highly desirable but competitive nomad environment to a = diversity=20 of niches that provide a larger scale of regional interconnections for = nomad and=20 exnomad alike in diverse occupations.

Chapter 9

This chapter describes an indigenous and widespread form of democracy = that=20 has long existed and continues to exist today: The tandiki kisi = leader,=20 emergent by reputation, who is not elected by formal vote but becomes = visible=20 only after it is observed that members of the community migrate to his = tent to=20 discuss problems and resolve disputes, and in time the tandiki = kisi comes=20 to enlarge his tent and number of wives to accommodate them. While there = are=20 many competitors for emergent leadership and it is difficult to predict = from=20 ascriptive attributes which will emerge, competitors soon fall away as = no one=20 comes to their tent, and the emergent position usually lasts until the = leader=20 retires at a late age. Further, it is shown how competition for rank on = the=20 basis of ability in a context of diversified choices sets the framework = for a=20 scalable social integration. Multilevel cohesion in which groups quickly = adapt=20 to new problems and situations operates in conjunction with a long = tradition of=20 decentralized leadership, even though new forms of elective office are = imposed=20 from the state.

Chapter 10

This chapter shows how emergence by reputation and ability also = operates=20 within groups defined by siblings and siblings-in-law rather than = ascription and=20 also operates in the emergence of lineage leaders, all knit together = into a clan=20 through reciprocal marriages alliances and bilateral kinship. A new = theory=20 emerges of a highly flexible, democratic, and complex type of = endoconical clan=20 organization as one of dynamical kinship and marriage cohesion. This = model of=20 case interlocking features of a scalable conical clan = organization reconciles the theoretical dilemmas into which = anthropologists were=20 forced by the kinds of disparate and seemingly contradictory assumptions = examined in chapter 4.

Chapter 11

Chapter 11 summarizes the book.

References

Network=20 Analysis and Ethnographic Problems: Process Models of a Turkish Nomad=20 Clan, Lexington Books 2006 paper 2004 hardback, Douglas R. = White and=20 Ulla C. Johansen.=20
Collaborative Long-Term Ethnography and Longitudinal = Social=20 Analysis of a Nomadic Clan In Southeastern Turkey, 2002 Ulla = Johansen and=20 Douglas R. White, Chapter 4, pp. 81-99, in Chronicling Cultures: = Long-Term=20 Field Research in Anthropology, edited by Robert van Kemper and = Anya=20 Royce. AltaMira Press.=20
The = Navigability of Strong Ties: Small Worlds, Tie Strength and Network=20 Topology, in Networks and Complexity Special Issue, = Complexity=20 8(1):72-81. 2002. Douglas R. White and Michael Houseman.

References and footnotes

^=20 2006 in paperback, ISBN=20 0-7391-1892-7 and 2004 in hardcover=20
^=20 Reviewer Alvin Wolfe writes it "...could be the most = important book in=20 anthropology in fifty years"=20
^=20 Amazon reviewer T. = Martin=20 Doyle writes 'The White and Johansen approach to "network = analysis"=20 provides the framework for unparalleled examination of sub-national = political=20 behavior. This tool for nonlinear dynamic analysis encourages detailed = assessment of highly decentralized self-organizing local governance = structures=20 otherwise unavailable through state level scrutiny. Those involved in = the=20 study of comparative politics will come to appreciate the meticulous = findings=20 exacted through use of this "network" construction. Additionally, = examining=20 the interaction of inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental=20 organizations, or transnational advocacy networks with state = government=20 infrastructure becomes far more precise, compliments of White and = Johansen.'=20

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_Analysis_and_Ethnographic_Pr= oblems"

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