Description: A sociological study of networking that explores the relationship between networks and agency and that analyzes a rich historical antecedent of contemporary networking and the concept of self that accompanies it.
Review Quotes: "The Art of the Network is more than a tour de force of textual analysis and historical explanation. McLean has written a significant work of sociological theory that makes new contributions to ongoing debates on the nature of social identity and the relationship between agency and structure. . . . This innovative book, as exemplar and prescription, deserves serious attention from cultural and historical sociologists as well as from theorists."--Richard Lachmann, American Journal of Sociology
"By providing a lucid and plausible account of how interaction is constituted by cultural work, he does a great service for those who wish to be analytical about culture in social networks. McLean's rich description of rhetorical devices with which interactions are expressed provides a useful taxonomy for further explanatory analysis of culture and interaction."--Hrag Balian, Canadian Journal of Sociology "McLean's study of the material and the process is the most systematic study ever undertaken, and for patronage letter junkies like myself it makes compulsive reading. . . . Historians can lean much from this book."--Dale Kent, American Historical Review