Sociology 380 - Networks and Social Structure

Institution:

Reed College

Subject:

Description:

Full course for one semester. Social network dynamics influence communities, neighborhoods, families, work life, and innovations. Network theories of social structure view actors as inherently interdependent, and examine how social structure emerges from regularities in this interdependence. This course focuses on the theoretical foundations of structural network dynamics, and identifies key analytical questions and research strategies for studying network formation, organization, and development. Attention is paid to both interactionist and structuralist traditions in network analysis, and focus is on the core principles of balance and centrality, connectivity and clustering, power and hierarchy, and social structure writ large. Substantive topics include social mobility and stratification, group organization and mobilization, patterns of creativity and innovation, resource distributions, decision-making, and the organization of movement and belief systems. This course couples theoretical and substantive themes with methodological applications. Time is spent on the process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting social network data. Prerequisite: Sociology 211 or consent of the instructor. Conference. Not offered 2009-10.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.reed.edu

Phone Number:

(503) 771-1112

Regional Accreditation:

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Calendar System:

Semester

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