Relating socio-cultural network concepts to process-oriented methodology

Abstract

"Examining the works of classical sociologists, this study demonstrates that the 'socio-cultural network analysis' is a 'process-oriented methodology'. 'Sociocultural network' is a concept originally proposed on the basis of 'thick comparison' studies conducted of two Thai villages; it includes both cultural elements and social actors. Different from the early classical sociologists (Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer), the later classical sociologists (Georg Simmel, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Norbert Elias, Talcott Parsons) utilized the terms 'network' and 'process' and thereby prepared the basis for process-oriented methodology. Among them, only Simmel, Weber and Elias created a direct portal to process-oriented methodology by employing those two terms in a significant and interconnected way and in their philosophical, historical and comparative studies. Thus, the socio-cultural network analysis can be regarded as a descendant of these three sociologists." (author's abstract)