James Clyde Mitchell (usually known as J. Clyde Mitchell) (21 June 1918

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

– 15 November 1995) was a British sociologist and anthropologist. In 1937 Mitchell helped found the

Rhodes-Livingstone Institute The Rhodes-Livingstone Institute (RLI) was the first local anthropological research facility in Africa; it was founded in 1937 under the initial directorship of Godfrey Wilson. It is located a few miles outside Lusaka. Designed to allow for easier ...

group of

social anthropologists Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portma ...

/sociologists, now a part of the

University of Zambia The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...

. He was influenced by

Max Gluckman Herman Max Gluckman (; 26 January 1911 – 13 April 1975) was a South African and British social anthropologist. He is best known as the founder of the Manchester School of anthropology. Biography and major works Gluckman was born in Joha ...

and conducted important research on social network analysis at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

(see Manchester School). In the 1940s he carried out field research into social systems and social conditions in

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, E ...

(southern

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northe ...

) interviewing heads of households in villages and urban areas and observing customs. In 1952 he was on the editorial committee of the ''

Northern Rhodesia Journal The ''Northern Rhodesia Journal'', often referred to simply as "NRJ", was produced between 1950 and 1965, by the Northern Rhodesian Government Printer, to record some of the early history of Northern Rhodesia. It is one of the most important sourc ...

''. Mitchell studied

network analysis Network analysis can refer to: * Network theory, the analysis of relations through mathematical graphs ** Social network analysis, network theory applied to social relations * Network analysis (electrical circuits) A network, in the context of e ...

and was a founding member of the

International Network for Social Network Analysis The International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA) is a professional academic association of researchers and practitioners of social network analysis. Members have interests in social networks as a new theoretical paradigm, in methodologi ...

, contributing to its ''Connections'' magazine. For a detailed story of his life refer to the following by Susan J. Smith: J. CLYDE MITCHELL James Clyde Mitchell 21 June 1918 – 15 November 1995 elected Fellow of the British Academy 1990 by SUSAN J. SMITH, Fellow of the Academy https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/954/Memoirs_18-06-Mitchell.pdf

Publications

*''The

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: Aspects of social relationships among urban Africans in Northern Rhodesia'', Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1956 *''The Yao Village: a Study in the Social Structure of a Malawian Tribe'' Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1956, 1966, 1971 *''

Social Network A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for ...

s in Urban Situations: Analysis of Personal Relationships in Central African Towns'' Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969 *''Networks, Norms & Institutions'', 1973 *''Configurational Similarity in Three Class Contexts in British Society'', in ''Sociology'', Vol. 19, 1985 *''Cities, Society, and Social Perception: A Central African Perspective'' 1987 British sociologists British women sociologists British anthropologists British women anthropologists 1918 births 1995 deaths University of Zambia faculty Academics of the University of Manchester Fellows of the British Academy People associated with the Rhodes-Livingstone Institute People from Pietermaritzburg 20th-century anthropologists {{UK-sociologist-stub