Music Sociology in Relational Perspective

Abstract

As this book shows, there are many varieties of relational sociology. In this chapter I outline the approach that I have been cultivating in recent years [Crossley, N., Towards Relational Sociology. Routledge, 2011; Crossley, N., Interactions and Juxtapositions: Conceptualising ‘Relations’ in Relational Sociology. In Relational Sociology: From Project to Paradigm. Palgrave, 2014; Crossley, N., Cultural Sociology 9 (4): 471–492, 2015b; Crossley, N., Social Networks and Relational Sociology. In Handbook of Contemporary Social Theory. Springer, 2016], briefly sketching certain of the central claims of that approach whilst also developing a few new strands. Specifically I want to: (1) further open up the philosophical underpinnings of my approach; (2) consider some of the mediations which extend social interactions and relations through time and space; (3) stress the need for relational theory to be complemented by relational methodologies (and empirical research); and (4) consider briefly what this might entail. The chapter tackles each of these aims in turn. I begin, however, with a summary of the central claims of my approach.