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Theorizing Diffusion: Tarde and Sorokin Revisited

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  • Elihu Katz

    (Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania)

Abstract

This article is a call for volunteers to stand on the shoulders of Gabriel Tarde and Pitirim Sorokin, who dared to theorize the process of diffusion over a wide variety of disciplines. While all of the social sciences and humanities regularly produce case studies of diffusion, theorizing seems paralyzed. This paralysis stems from the ostensible incommensurability of diffusing items; their refusal to hold still in transit; the complexity of their interactions with the cultures, social structures, and media systems in which potential adopters are embedded; the difficulty of reconciling voluntary action and external imposition; and the lack of a disciplinary home.

Suggested Citation

  • Elihu Katz, 1999. "Theorizing Diffusion: Tarde and Sorokin Revisited," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 566(1), pages 144-155, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:566:y:1999:i:1:p:144-155
    DOI: 10.1177/000271629956600112
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    Cited by:

    1. Mark Friesen & Sascha Albers & Jan Wajerski & Julie Laeremans, 2024. "The diffusion of dynamic pricing in the European parking industry," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(1), pages 3-13, February.
    2. David K. Diehl, 2023. "What exactly is “social” about social networks?: Accounting for socio-cultural context in networks of human interaction," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 1369-1392, April.

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