| Summary: | The Connectivity of Things by Sebastian Giessmann examines how networks have historically enabled new forms of communication and social interaction while reshaping society, situating networks as culturally embedded and materially diverse rather than universal categories. The book analyzes networks through a fourfold typology—objects, metaphors, infrastructures, and diagrams—and explores the visual history of network diagrams across scientific, corporate, and political domains from the 1830s to the present. While the work offers a rich interdisciplinary synthesis valuable to specialists in history, media studies, and related fields, it has been noted for uneven transitions between chapters, limited engagement with critiques of network thinking, and a predominantly European focus. Overall, the book contributes to understanding networks as historically situated constructs and invites further reflection on the conceptual boundaries and power dynamics within network analysis.
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