Mapping relational structures in culture

Culture is a relational concept, and the empirical manifestations of culture are worth being analysed in a structural vein to unveil the patterns of relations constituting them. Critical to exploring the intersections of culture and structure are relational methodologies, especially geometric data analysis (GDA) and social network analysis (SNA). Over the years, these two perspectives – as distinct strategies or in combination with one another – have been proved well-suited to understand the inherent relationality of cultural phenomena. The present editorial takes stock of the development of such analytical frameworks to look at the recent progress in the study of cultural structures, in continuity with a tradition of sociological research most especially disseminated through Poetics. It develops three core elements in the sociological study of culture: the relational theory mobilised in such study, its relational focus in terms of the cultural entities studied, and its relational methodologies. This special issue gathers ten empirical papers that span cultural consumption, artistic and scientific fields, media usage, and knowledge production, employing various empirical tools available in GDA and SNA to map relational structures in culture. It thus offers new insights into the interplay between culture and structure and provides valuable tools and perspectives for future research in cultural sociology.