Table of Contents

Contents Preface xiii 1. Introduction 1 2. Social and Literary Structure of Isnad: Whose Narrative? 29 3. The Ceaseless Synergy between Literary and Social Structures 68 4. Reconstructing the Hadith Transmission Network: Narratives into Networks 94 5. From Synchronic to Diachronic Methods: Temporal Constraints on Action 124 6. Social and Literary Dynamics of Authority Formation: The Macro-Level LRS Effect 159 7. Narrative and Sociology of Intellectuals: From Ibn Khaldun to Collins 180 8. On the Shoulders of Giants: Chain of Memory and the Micro-Level LRS Effect 212 9. Conclusion: Speech and Action Conjoined on the Diachronic Axis 245 Notes 261 Bibliography 281 Index 297

About the Author

Recep Senturk is Associate Professor of Sociology and Research Fellow at the Center for Islamic Studies (ISAM) in Istanbul, Turkey.

Reviews

"This is an unusual and impressive piece of scholarship, bringing together the sophisticated methods of sociological network analysis, the comparative sociology of intellectual life, and the study of Islamic culture and society." - Randall Collins,University of Pennsylvania