J. Clyde Mitchell
Encyclopedia
James Clyde Mitchell (21 June 1918 – 15 November 1995) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 sociologist
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

 and anthropologist
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...

.

In 1937 Mitchell helped found the Rhodes-Livingston Institute group of social anthropologists
Social anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...

/sociologists, now a part of the University of Zambia
University of Zambia
The University of Zambia is Zambia's largest university, founded in 1966. It has a student population of about 10,000.-Academics:The University of Zambia is divided into the following faculties:*School of Agricultural Sciences *School of Engineering...

. He was influenced by Max Gluckman
Max Gluckman
Max Gluckman was a South African and British social anthropologist.He grew up in South Africa, working later under the British Administration in Northern Rhodesia...

 and conducted important research on social network analysis at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...

 (see Manchester School
Manchester school (anthropology)
The Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester, founded by Max Gluckman in 1947 became known among anthropologists and other social scientists as the Manchester School. Notable features of the Manchester School included an emphasis on "case studies", deriving from Gluckman's...

). In the 1940s he carried out field research into social systems and social conditions in Central Africa
Central Africa
Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....

 (southern Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

) interviewing heads of households in villages and urban areas and observing customs. In 1952 he was on the editorial committee of the Northern Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...

 Journal.

Mitchell studied network analysis and was a founding member of the International Network for Social Network Analysis
International Network for Social Network Analysis
The International Network for Social Network Analysis is the professional association of social network analysis. The rapid increase in awareness of social networks, social network software, and social networking has led to lively discussions and influence beyond sheer numbers.-Membership, history...

, contributing to its Connections magazine.

Publications

  • The Kalela dance: Aspects of social relationships among urban Africans in Northern Rhodesia, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1956
  • The Yao Village: a Study in the Social Structure of a Malawian Tribe Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1956, 1966, 1971
  • Social Network
    Social network
    A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...

    s in Urban Situations: Analysis of Personal Relationships in Central African Towns
    Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969
  • Networks, Norms & Institutions, 1973
  • Configurational Similarity in Three Class Contexts in British Society, in Sociology, Vol. 19, 1985
  • Cities, Society, and Social Perception: A Central African Perspective 1987
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