Jan Fuhse (Humboldt University of Berlin)
Social networks should not be seen as patterns of apparently unproblematic ties. Instead they are relational expectations about the interaction between actors, dynamically constructed in the course of communication. But how can we measure networks and relations in communication? My quest is for methods detecting the relational underpinnings of communication.
For this endeavor, I combine the relational sociology of Harrison White with various approaches of discourse analysis, including conversation analysis, interactional sociolinguistics, and positioning theory. Two main research strategies are pursued: (1) relational events are typified (e.g. attacks, support etc.) with regard to their implications for the actors involved, allowing for the quantitative analysis of the distribution of relational events across relations, and of their dynamics; (2) stories told about the actors involved in communication are interpreted with regard to the relational definitions of the situation offered. I apply these methods to the case of the political debate in Germany, to analyze how political constellations of alliances and rivalries are represented in the debate. In particular, I study the pattern of interruptions (supportive and attacking) and the definitions of the identities involved in story-fragments about political events and plans.
Jan Fuhse is a Heisenberg Fellow in the Department of Social and Political Sciences at Humboldt University of Berlin. In his doctorate (Universität Stuttgart 2007) he analyzed the role of social networks in the integration of Italian migrants in Germany with a quantitative survey. In 2007-08, he did post-doctoral research at Columbia University with Harrison White and Charles Tilly on theories of social networks. From 2009 to 2013, he was assistant professor of political sociology at University of Bielefeld (where he completed his Habilitation in 2011). His research generally combines a network perspective with a focus on forms of meaning and on the role and dynamics of communication in networks. Apart from theoretical work, he works on the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, and on applications in inter-ethnic relations and in political sociology.
Light refreshments will be provided.