Drawing the Social: Jacob Levy Moreno, Sociometry, and the Rise of Network Diagrammatics
Author(s): Gießmann, Sebastian
Abstract
The following article discusses the combination of graphical methods and network thought in early sociology. It combines a case study of Jacob Levy Moreno’s sociometric work and diagrammatic practice with media-theoretical thoughts about the characteristics of network diagrams. These are understood as inscriptions that perform both an act of drawing and writing at the same time. Moreno’s mappings, as well as other early visual techniques of social research, are understood along Michel Serres’ understanding of the network diagram as a topological narration. Seen from the vantage point of a history of knowledge, Moreno’s sociometric and performative practices can not only be understood as a contribution to social network thought, but as actual research on the cooperative character of human interaction.
Preferred Citation
Gießmann, Sebastian: Drawing the Social: Jacob Levy Moreno, Sociometry, and the Rise of Network Diagrammatics. Siegen: Universität Siegen: SFB 1187 Medien der Kooperation 2017 (SFB 1187 Working Papers 2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/3794.
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