296A. Networks, Social and Otherwise

Networks... and all that... have long been the subject of study in disciplines as diverse as organizational sociology, engineering, political science, economics, telecommunications management, business, and so on.... The key proposition behind this seminar is that the recent explosion of interest in 'social networks' (as economic, political, social, information, and business model phenomenon) can benefit from a directed survey and analysis of some of what we know about networks from other fields. This class will read and dissect a broad swathe of literature on networks with an eye toward framing up and developing important questions for future research.