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 An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and v ...

. In 1937 Mitchell helped found the Rhodes-Livingstone Institute 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 portman ...

/sociologists, now a part of the University of Zambia. He was influenced by Max Gluckman and conducted important research on social network analysis at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Unive ...

(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 Cong ...

(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 northeast ...

) 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 and was a founding member of the International Network for Social Network Analysis, 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 Kalela dance: 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 an ...

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