The General Sociology of Harrison C. White

Book excerpt: Harrison C. White is one of American sociology's pre-eminent thinkers, yet until now his endeavour to develop a general theoretical perspective on the basis of social network analysis has remained largely unexamined. This book opens out for the first time White's contribution to those interested generally in his social network approach, but daunted by the complexity and mathematical modelling often employed in his published work. Special attention is paid to White's model of production markets, as an application of his general sociology. The book draws on interview material with White himself, as well as with several of his past students.