Untangling the Ties That Bind

Abstract

Over the course of a career, sociologists study a wide range of phenomena. To an outsider, this may appear to reflect a scattershot approach to selecting research topics. But there is often a sociological throughline— a running theoretical concern or question that animates project after project, whether we recognize it or not. Each specific case allows the researcher to look upon that question from a new angle, like a jeweler appraising a cut gem. In Inventing the Ties That Bind: Imagined Relationships in Moral and Political Life, Francesca Polletta shows us her throughline—the theme that has run through her research on subjects ranging from the civil rights movement to a postSeptember 11 deliberative forum to debtsettlement agents. Chapter by chapter, she introduces readers to new cases, turning them like gems toward the light, so we can see each facet for ourselves. The argument that runs through the book is deceptively simple, but its implications are profound: as we enter new social interactions, we draw from a set of culturally familiar and recognizable relationship schemas in order to help us smoothly navigate the new setting. As Polletta writes, we ‘‘transpose the behavioral expectations of familiar relationships to new situations’’ (p. 5). These relationship schemas are distinct from the actual structure of our relations with others or the textured emotion of our specific relationships. They are templates for the kind of relationship one may have with a group: like family or friendship or coworkers or exchange partners. Each template prescribes the kind of communication that is appropriate (intimate and self-disclosing, say, or detached and formal), the expectations one can have of others, the proper distribution of roles and responsibilities, and the like. They serve, Polletta writes, ‘‘as a kind of moral compass, indicating the kind of behavior that was right and appropriate’’ (p. 9). Each schema is also historically specific: not only has the meaning of each kind of relationship evolved, but our ability to imagine certain relationship schemas as good fits for certain settings has also changed significantly over time. For example, imagine if your supervisor at a new job introduced you to your new colleagues by explaining, ‘‘we’re like a family here.’’ If you took her at her word, this may lead you to adopt a relatively informal style of interaction, to ask for and expect flexibility from colleagues, and to freely share personal information (and maybe even food from the communal fridge!). But perhaps this was just an offhand comment and not an accurate reflection of the group’s culture. Your colleagues may imagine themselves enmeshed in a very different kind of relationship—more like a sports team, perhaps, or a military unit. Each relationship schema carries different expectations. When people situate themselves within the same imagined relationship schema, this can facilitate group cohesion; but a mismatch between expectations can produce awkwardness, bad feelings, or even outright conflict. One could apply this insight to nearly any social setting, and indeed sociologists working across a number of subfields are attuned Inventing the Ties That Bind: Imagined Relationships in Moral and Political Life, by Francesca Polletta. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2020. $27.50 paper. ISBN: 9780226734200.