Network Ethnography               SS259A: 69635 doc\courses\neteth97.doc

SSPB 4249   Thurs 9:00-11:50      Douglas R. White, Lilyan A. Brudner

Spring 1997                       Off: SSPA#4169  824-5893 drwhite [at ] uci [dot] edu

    Program in Social Networks    Home:   (619)-452-9957 drwhite@sdsc.edu

This course explores network analysis of field data from classical (e.g., Victor Turner; potentially also Dorsey, Mead, Leach, Firth, Goodenough) and contemporary ethnographies (e.g., Brant, Fox, Weatherford, Brudner, Colson and Scudder; potentially also McCall, Schweizer) and studies of elites (e.g., Stone, Roberts), and provides students with methodologies, software and training to do their own network ethnographies at small, medium or large scale, either collecting their own field data, using historical ethnographic sources, or analyzing previously published data or longitudinal fieldwork datasets. Term paper: individual or class-based research project or research proposal involving one or more independent or dependent variables relating to network concepts:

Books on Order:

Articles (Xerox):

  • Data Collection
    1. Individual Census (Residence, Spouses, Parents, Individual Data)
    2. Household Characteristics
    3. Transaction File
    4. Events File
  • Demonstration: Pul Eliya
    1. Conversion of data (Ego2Cpl) on Residence, Genealogy, Land Sales-Inheritance-Gifts, Occupation, Education, Migration to analytic form
    2. Par-Calc marriage analysis
    3. PGraph Simulation and Blood Marriage Rules Comparison
    4. Par-Bloc, Simulation Results, and Relinking Comparison
    5. PGraph dual organization tests
    6. Exchange PGraph, Succession PGraph, Event Analysis Factional PGraph, etc.
  • Graphic Formats
    1. P Graph
    2. Heran P Graph
    3. Malinowski P Graph
    4. Exchange P Graph
  • Projects
    1. Appalachia: Residence, Genealogy, Land Sales-Inheritance-Gifts, Occupation, Education, Migration
    2. Tory: Residence, Genealogy, Land Sales-Inheritance-Gifts, Occupation, Education, Migration
    3. Ndembu: Residence, Genealogy, Clan, Land Inheritance-Gifts, Occupation, Migration, Social Drama Events
    4. Washington DC: Genealogy, Occupation, Political Office, Social Drama Events
  • Network and Longitudinal Analysis: see 1996 network seminar using network concepts for ethnographic and historical applications.
    1. Structural Concepts
    2. Longitudinal Analysis

  • Notes on Cases: Students can bring or design projects to fit their own research agenda as their term papers; in any case we will do a number of demonstraction projects on how to construct, collect, conceptualize and analyze the network components of the study.
    1. Appalachian and Tory Island cases: available as a network database for further study using fairly simple techniques.
    2. Austrian case: examples are available of secondary analysis completed from such a database.
    3. Gwembe database: more complex and includes network, demographic, economic and other data but would require computer skills for further analysis.
    4. Ndembu: a published network study open to further study requiring the coding of the social drama relational links. We might do the coding and analysis as a class project.
    5. Similarly for the Washington D.C. network study, in which the network is far more extensive and complicated, but some subset of links (with a particular focus) might constitute a class project.

    Longitudinal databases:

    This page was accessed: times after Dec 9, 1996.
    Doug White's home page