Eminent networks scholar and 1984 Simmel awardee Harrison Colyar White passed away on May 18, 2024, in his Tucson home aged 94. As an early convert from physics to sociology, White played an outsized role in the development of social network analysis between 1960 and 2010.
His early contributions from the 1960s and 1970s have been hailed as the “Harvard thrust” (Freeman) or the “Harvard breakthrough” (Scott). They center around the notions of vacancy chains and structural equivalence, and the method of blockmodeling analysis. While at Harvard, he guided and influenced two extraordinary generations of graduate students, including Simmel awardees Phillip Bonacich, Ronald Breiger, Kathleen Carley, Bonnie Erickson, Mark Granovetter, Philippa Pattison, and Barry Wellman. His ideas shaped the new economic sociology and the sociology of art.
Since 1990, White was the driving force behind “relational sociology” (Emirbayer), offering a theoretical account of social networks and their role in the social world. This approach combines network structuralism with a focus on meaning and culture in networks, as well as on the dynamics of social processes in them.
To honor these far-reaching contributions to social network research, this section assembles a diverse set of pieces in his memory – from short personal reflections to programmatic reflections and an interview with White. Thanks to the authors for sharing their thoughts, memories, and ideas, and to the editors of Connections for inviting this themed section.