Day One Reflections: Networks: Scales, Motivations and Patterns

Discussing scales, Europe and interconnectedness

We believe that scale is a defining factor when considering networks. All three of us are working on interconnections that may be defined as networks, but are nonetheless very different in terms of scale from one another. In scrutinising punk rock, Ondrej is exploring a scale shift from a closely connected group of people to a mass movement. Anna is mainly examining a very small personal network which at the same time is connected to a bigger shift in the understanding of relationships in general. Nikos is working on the connectivity between young people from West Germany, Greece and Britain. He examines transnational, small and loosely-knit groups, whose members simultaneously shared the feeling of common belonging to a broader “imagined community” of a transnational youth culture in the context of the “sexual revolution”.

The ways in which the networks each of us is exploring were constituted vary:

For Nikos, the above mentioned networks were based on travelling and “being elsewhere” from the place where these young people lived. The people that Ondrej is examining are drawn together by the enjoyment of the same music, looks and ideas. And in Anna’s case, the network is just formed through Lou Salome’s correspondents

So far, we have experimented with other concepts in our analyses. For example, Nikos has employed the concept of sociality. Anna considers the conceptual history of friendship as a specfic description of relationships. Since the notion of network can be conceptualised in various ways (see, for instance, Latour, Castells), we are interested in further exploring its compatibility with the other concepts we have already been using. We are also keen on examining further the possibilities of distinguishing between different kinds of networks and diverse links between their members.

Anna, Ondrej, Nikos