FILLINGSTRUCTURAL HOLES: SOCIAL NETWORKS IN THE INTRODUCTORYCOURSE*

Although the literatureon social networks has made a considerable contribu- tion to the sociological imaginationin recent years, it has been largely ignored in conventional course materials. Such an omission is curious, considering social networks' intuitive imagery, broad theoretical relevance and extensive empiricalapplication. This article offers a remedy to that oversight, describing a challenging yet accessible curriculumincluding readings, classroom exer- cises, and student-centered learningprojects.

JAMES M. COOK Duke University

OVER THE PAST TWENTYYEARS, work in occupations, and political social networks, encompassing theory, (Institutefor ScientificInformation 2005). methodologyand research,has grownfrom Confrontedwith the advent of network a spry twig of sociometricinsight into an sociology, this article asks two questions. empiricallysignificant, intuitively appealing First, to what extent is social networkre- and formallyrigorous branch of sociology. search and theory reflected in the under- Social networks of interactionhave been graduateintroductory curriculum? One of shown to influencesocial behavioras di- the primarygoals of an introductorycourse verse as the formationof politicalcoalitions is to communicatethe stateof the discipline (Gould1991; Knoke1990; McAdam 1986), as reflected in the sociological literature; the spreadof disease (Bell, Atkinson,and how well does the currentcanon accomplish Carlson 1999; Morris and Kretzschmar this goal regardingsocial networks?A sec- 1995), the commissionof crime(Canter and ond questionasks how social networkscan Alison 1999; Frank2001), the maintenance be used to build a coherentnarrative about of social capital (Lin 2001; Renzulli, Al- .To demonstratethe peda- drich,and Moody 2000), the transformation gogicalvalue of social networks,I presenta of organizationalfields (McPherson,Popie- module for the introductorycourse that larz, and Drobnic 1992), and subscription clarifies for studentsthe connectionsbe- to diverse cultural preferences (Carley tween meso-context, micro-structureand 1991; Mark 1998). In the year 2002 alone individualexperience. 95 scholarlyworks with a subjectheading including "network"or "networks"ap- PUBLICATIONWITHOUT peared in Sociological Abstracts. Since REPRESENTATION? 1997, Social Networkshas maintainedits place as one of the 30 most cited sociology Has the rise of the social networkin sociol- journals,passing specialist journals in estab- ogy been matchedby a proportionateincor- lished fields such as , work and porationof social networksinto the under- curriculum?One to an- *Pleaseaddress all to the graduate good way correspondence swer this is to look at current authorat the Departmentof Sociology,Duke question University,Box 90088, Durham, NC 27708; course texts, since a numberof instructors e-mail:[email protected]. use them as a guide for content(Tischler Editor's note: The reviewerswere, in 1988). This is especiallytrue of the intro- alphabeticalorder, Linda Renzulli, Royce Sin- ductory course, where voluminous texts gleton,and Lynn Smith-Lovin. surveyinga wide rangeof sociologicaltop-

Teaching Sociology, Vol. 33, 2005 (April:170-180) 170 SOCIALNETWORKS IN THE INTRODUCTORYCOURSE 171 ics are the rulerather than the exception. admittedlysmall set to occur in more than For this paper,I used a conveniencesam- one syllabuswere in the conveniencesam- ple of textbooksavailable to me. (See Ap- ple. These three sourcesof informationin- pendixA for a list of texts.) To determine dicatethat although the conveniencesample whetherthis conveniencesample of booksis of textbooksis not exhaustive,it capturesa actuallyused in a largeproportion of intro- significant proportionof the titles most ductory sociology classrooms, I gathered popularamong instructors. three pieces of information.First, I ran- I reviewedeach page of each textbookin domly sampled the results of a Google the sample for keywordsand conceptsre- searchfor the phrases"introduction to soci- lated to one of five sociologicalsubject ar- ology" and "syllabus"until I obtaineda set eas: social networks, deviance, stratifica- of 100 syllabi from collegiateintroduction tion, religionand aging. I counteda page if to sociologycourses. (I sampled127 search at least the majorityof one paragraphon a resultsin orderto generate100 syllabi,with page containedsignificant reference to a 15 coursesnot makinga syllabusaccessible subject. I convertedthe numberof pages and 12 searchresults not linkingto an intro- devotedto a topic to a percentageof total ductorycourse at all.) Of the 100 syllabi, pages to facilitatecomparison across text- 97 used a course textbook. Of the 97 booksof differentlengths. courses, 50.5 percentused one of the text- To measurethe amountof researchschol- books in the conveniencesample, and 49.5 arshipin a subject,I carriedout searchesof percentused anothertextbook. Four of the SociologicalAbstracts for the years 1995- five most frequentlyappearing textbooks in 2001 for keywordsrelated to researchin the sampleof syllabi also appearedin the each of these five subjectareas (see Appen- conveniencesample. Second, because the dix B).' For each subjectI determinedthe set of syllabi availablefor searchmay not percent of all sociological abstractsthat be representativeof the entireset of intro- referencedone of the area's subjecthead- duction-to-sociologysyllabi at the college ings.2 level, I measuredthe amazon.comsales Figure 1 presentsthe results of dividing rankingsof all textbooksin the sampleof the percentageof a textbook'spages de- 100 syllabi and in the conveniencesample, voted to a subjectby the percentageof all with a lower numberindicating a more fre- abstractsdevoted to the samesubject. When quentlypurchased book. The averageama- zon.com sales rankingof books in the con- S"Stratification"is conceivedbroadly here, venience sample was 851,512, while the includingthe study of inequalityacross race, and/or and not class as a averageamazon.com sales rankingof books gender, class, just by more limited definitionof stratificationmight from the sampleof syllabithat did not ap- in the convenience was imply. pear sample 2Onemight arguethat the percentof all ab- 1,005,042. Three of the five most fre- stracts from four sociological journals quently purchasedtextbooks appearing in (AmericanSociological Review, American Jour- the sample of syllabi also appearedin the nal of Sociology, Social Forces, and Annual conveniencesample. Third, I gatheredtext- Reviewof Sociology)might better measure the book informationfrom the fifteen sample extent to which an area within sociology has been fully acceptedas a centralfocus of the introduction-to-sociologysyllabi appearing of sincefor betteror worse in the AmericanSociological Association's discipline sociology, these journalsare amongthe most highly read Introductory Sociology Resource Manual andcited. The resultsusing this standard not (Sikora and Amoloza 2000). Of these fif- only replicatedthe findingsof Figure1, but teen syllabi, five used no textbook, five conveyeda starkerunder-representation of so- used a textbook not in our convenience sam- cial networks, since articles regardingsocial ple, and five used a textbook in the conven- networksare especiallyabundant in the pagesof ience sample. The only textbooks from this thesefour journals. 172 TEACHINGSOCIOLOGY

Figure 1. Percentof Pagesin TextbookDevoted to a Subject,Divided by Percentof Sociological AbstractsDevoted to the SameSubject 3

2. A

2

SocialNetworks A A A X 0 Deviance 1.5 - 0A A Stratification + + 0+ + Religion A X Aging O 0 X + O

++ A + 0.5-+ +--

0 w 0 00 " .9411 .. 0 49~

this ratioequals one, thereis as muchcov- exceed coverageexpectations, and at worst erage of a subject in a textbook as one only give networksone-seventh the space would expect given the presence of that theyoccupy in the broadliterature. subjectin SociologicalAbstracts. When the The conclusionsmade above are contin- ratio rises above one, there is more cover- gent: because I referencedonly a limited age thanexpected, and wherethe ratiofalls non-randomsample of textbooks,this paper below one, there is less coveragethan ex- cannotmake a conclusiveclaim about the pected. A strikingpattern emerges. Of the inclusionof networksin introductorytext- five subjectareas, only that of social net- books. However, the conveniencesample works is consistentlyunderrepresented. The appropriatelygathered some of the most sampledtextbooks at best meet but do not populartexts, whichmeans that there are a SOCIALNETWORKS IN THE INTRODUCTORYCOURSE 173 considerablenumber of studentsfor whom variableshave meaningful the patternof under-representationis di- socialimplications. rectly relevant.In addition,the consistency In orderfor the social networksliterature with which the networkliterature is under- to achieve adequaterepresentation in the representedeven in this incompletesample introductorycourse, these potentialobjec- suggests the existence of a broader gap tions must be addressed.The remainderof needingto be filled. this articleis dedicatedto identifyinga set The above analysis assumes that the of clearly articulatedsocial networkcon- amountof attentiondevoted to a subjectin a ceptsand findingsand articulating them in a textbookshould be proportionalto the vol- mannerthat is relevantto the sociological ume of currentresearch on that subject. enterpriseand students' experiences. This expectationdoes not reflect otherfac- tors thatmay determinewhether a tradition BUILDINGA in the literatureis "textbook-ready."Be- NETWORKCURRICULUM cause an introductorycourse is of necessity general,narrowly focused literatures might Elementsof Social Structure:Course Con- be justly underrepresented.On the other tent hand, sociologicalwork with relevancefor Althoughsome applicationsof social net- researchin a numberof substantivesub- work analysis can be intimidatingto the fields mightbe justly over-represented.This mathematicallydisinclined, the core of so- logic is reflectedin the choiceof most intro- cial networktheory is staggeringlysimple, ductorytexts to focus first on fundamental incorporatingonly two concepts. A node, buildingblocks of sociologicaltheory, and either drawnin a sociogramas a point or only lateron particularsubstantive areas of occupyinga row in a matrix, depicts an concern. individual,whether that individual is a per- Another potentially limiting factor in son, culturalform, disease host, computer teaching sociologicalcontent is difficulty. terminal,organization, village, nation, or Work in some fields may simply be too any other entity that can enter into some complicatedfor the averageundergraduate sort of relationwith anotherentity. A tie, to digest. Indeed, a common criticismof either drawn as a line in a sociogramor social networkanalysis is that its practitio- enteredas a cell in a matrix,is simplysome ners place too much value on quantitative relationbetween two nodes. In its simplest rigor and too little value on intuitivecom- form a social tie is symmetric(in which prehensibility(Turner 2001:503-13). How- case both nodes necessarilyrelate to each ever, similar complaints could be laid other,such as eatinglunch with) and binary against many sociological fields that are (in which case a tie either exists or does over-representedin introductorytextbooks; not, such as knowingby name). Addinga studies of stratification,deviance and the slight wrinkle, ties may also take on the life coursecan be initiallyperplexing to the propertiesof asymmetry(in whichone node quantitativelydisinclined. One might say a relatesto another,but not necessarilyvice centraltask for authorsand instructorsis to versa, as in deliveringa punch)and strength present difficult materialin an accessible (in whichthe intensityof a relationis meas- fashion. ured by some standard,such as emotional A final objectionto the inclusionof the intensity,amount of exchange,or frequency network literature, at least from the point of of contact; see Granovetter1973 for a view of the undergraduatestudent, might be broaderdiscussion). Traditionally,"social that network theory is overly abstract and structure"is an enigmaticmetaphor consist- divorced from the substantive reality con- ing of invisibleinstitutions, roles or sche- fronting undergraduatestudents. A central mas. Socialnetwork theory makes the meta- pedagogical challenge is to demonstratethat phor of structureconcrete and palpableto 174 TEACHINGSOCIOLOGY the analystand studentalike. As the physi- baseballcards with). Finally, networkdis- cal structureof an object is describedin tance is measuredas the numberof inter- terms of the visible patternof relationsbe- veningties separatingtwo nodes. Theseare tween physicalobjects, so the social struc- simple measures of the social structure ture of a networkis describedin terms of emergingfrom a set of socialrelations. Stu- the visible pattern of relations between dents can be introducedto these measures nodes. and invitedto considertheir consequences Workingfrom this foundation,a number in the assignmentthat follows below. of emergentstructural characteristics have been identified,the most centralof which Elementsof SocialStructure: Application requiresonly a basic commandof algebra, Because the network characteristicsde- logic or simplecounting to understand.The scribedabove are generalrather than sub- followingterms are describedintuitively by stantivelyparticular, they and their conse- Scott (1991) and encyclopedically by quences can be observed in a variety of Wassermanand Faust (1994). Density, the settings.A good way to help studentslearn extent to which a social networkis filled aboutthese characteristicsis to ask themto with ties, is a ratio in which the numerator observe their own immediatesocial net- is the numberof ties actuallyoccurring in a work. In a brief assignment,students may social networkand the denominatoris the be askedto identifyone sort of social rela- largest possible numberof such ties that tion they are involvedin and describeit in could actuallyoccur. (If n equalsthe num- the form of a question.The sort of relation ber of nodes in a network,then the largest shouldbe definedin termsof some tangible possiblenumber of ties thatcould occur in a or intangiblegood exchangedbetween indi- networkis equalto n*(n-1)for a networkof viduals(such as a monetaryor educational asymmetricties and (n*(n-1))/2for a net- relation), or some form of joint activity work of symmetricties.) The resultranges (such as playing tennis with someone). To from zero to one, with a zero representinga help studentsget off the ground,it may be completelack of ties anda one representing helpful to refer to questionsused by re- a conditionin which every tie that could searchers.The 1985 GeneralSocial possibly exist does actuallyexist. Density (GSS)asks the followingquestion: can not only be calculatedfor a whole net- work, but for any subsetof nodes withina Fromtime to time,most people discuss im- network, so long as only the relationsoc- portantmatters with otherpeople. Looking between nodes in that subset are backover the last six months-whoare the curring withwhom discussedmatters im- counted. In a networkof symmetricties, people you portantto you? degree is the numberof ties involvedin a relationwith a in a networkof node; asym- The 1977 NorthernCalifornia Commu- metric the of a node is the ties, indegree codebookof which numberof ties directedtoward that node nity Study(NCCS) (the is available the from other and the of a through Inter-University nodes, outdegree Consortiumfor Political and Social Re- node is the numberof ties thatnode directs search,ICPSR) offers a rich varietyof tie- towardother nodes. Tie strength,the inten- elicitingquestions, such as: sity of a relation between two nodes, is measuredin the unitsof the sortof intensity Oftenpeople rely on thejudgment of someone being considered,such as numberof visits they know in making importantdecisions per week or numberof punchesdelivered to abouttheir lives-for example,decisions about the gut. Tie multiplexityrefers to the num- their or their work. Is there anyone ber of differentsorts of relationsbetween whoseopinion you consider seriously in mak- two nodes (such as eating lunch with, dis- ingimportant decisions? cussingimportant matters with, and trading SOCIALNETWORKS IN THE INTRODUCTORYCOURSE 175

In the task of identifyinga particularso- similar than between dissimilar people cial relationand successfullyconveying it in (McPherson,Smith-Lovin and Cook 2001). writtenwords, studentsencounter the defi- Homophilyis the micro-levelobservation of nition of a social relation in much more the meso-levelseparation between individu- detail than by memorizingthe term in a als. Askingstudents in a secondstep of the textbook. This is also an opportunityfor above assignmentto identifythe age, gen- studentsto grapplewith the methodological der, race and/or ethnicity of their social issue of operationalization,as studentswill networkcontacts is one way to help students need to determinewhether their question move beyondabstract disbelief in the exis- clearlyelicits binary or gradationalinforma- tence of homophilyto a considerationof its tion on asymmetricor symmetricties. possiblecauses. Once studentshave writtentheir own tie- A central question for sociology, and elicitingquestions, they thenask them-first thereforefor studentsof sociology, is the of themselves,and then of those to whom extentto whichhuman existence is a matter they are in turn tied. Studentsshould then of individualchoice versus structuralcon- draw a sociogramof their resulting"ego- straint. With this in mind, an important network,"with circles representingnodes, questionregarding homophily is the extent lines betweennodes representing symmetric to which the formationof homogeneous ties, and lines with arrows representing social networksis a matterof choiceor con- asymmetricties (Scott 1991), in order to straint. Althoughstudents are most often visuallydepict the social structurethat sur- inclinedto attributethe homogeneoussocial roundsthem. If studentshave asked ques- networksof others to personalchoice or tions that elicit information about tie prejudice,I find they tend to attributethe strength,then the numericalstrength should homogeneityof their own networkto the be written above the line that represents homogeneityof the groups and activities each tie. Studentsshould calculate the den- they participatein. Participationin joint sity of their ego-networkand of subsetsof activitiesof life, whichFeld (1981)broadly their network,looking for areasof the net- defines as "foci," has been shown to pro- work thatare especiallydense. In addition, mote the formationof social ties (see also studentsshould be able to determinethe Simmel1955 andBreiger 1974); homogene- degree (or indegreeand outdegree)of each ity in foci may lead to a lack of diversityin node. social ties, regardlessof individualchoices As studentscomplete the assignmentde- or prejudices.Research indicates that indi- scribedabove, I find they begin to look for vidualchoice and homogeneousgroup con- factorsthat might explainthe characterof texts may bothplay a role in the emergence theirown ego-network.Two classicpatterns of homophily(Louch 2000; McPhersonand in social ties are often uncovered:homo- Smith-Lovin1987). A third step of a net- phily and the presenceof foci. As students work assignmentasks studentsto identify observe continuingracial, gender, class, the classes, groups, extracurricularactivi- educational,age-related and religioussegre- ties and living arrangementsof membersof gationin their own social environment,so- theirnetwork. By then deliberatingwhether ciologists have the opportunity and and when the constraintsof foci or prefer- (arguably)the obligationto help them to ences for similaritymatter in theirown per- understandsegregation's root causes. It is sonal networks,students bring abstractde- curious, then, that the principleof homo- bates regardingchoice and constraintdown phily is almost wholly neglectedin intro- to a very concretelevel, helpingthem ab- ductorytextbooks. Homophily, one of the sorb the meaningof thatoft-used phrase in most consistentlyobserved phenomenain introductory classes, the "sociological the field of sociology, is the tendencyfor imagination." social ties to form at a higherrate between 176 TEACHINGSOCIOLOGY

NetworkDensity: Course Content stratethis, an instructormay ask studentsto The concept of density introducedabove volunteerhow many networkties of a par- clarifiesother introductory concepts, includ- ticularsort or strengththey each maintain. ing thatof group.In theirintroductory text, The meanvalue for the class, or the typical Kornblum and Smith (1999) identify a degreeof students'personal networks, is an groupas "a set of two or more individuals indicationof students' finite capacity to who sharea sense of commonidentity and form social ties given limitedtime and en- belonging and who interacton a regular ergy. Once this valuehas been determined, basis." Given the authors' interactionist the instructormay ask studentsto use the discussion of the emergence of identity formulafor densityto indicatehow many through social interaction(Kornblum and ties will occur in communitiesof various Smith1999:156-89), this definitionbecomes size (10 people, 100 people, 1,000 people, somewhatredundant and can be simplified 10,000 people, and 100,000people are lev- furtherto "a set of two or more individuals els that work well; it also is interestingto who interacton a regularbasis." To sim- includethe populationsize of your univer- plify andclarify further, a groupis "a set of sity and surroundingcommunity). This individualswith a relativelyhigh network quantityis simply the mean degree times density." This definition is operational, systemsize, dividedby two, since every tie which means that confrontedwith network involves two individuals. As discussed datastudents can easily identifygroups. It is above, the numberof possible ties can be also general,applicable to socialobjects not directlycalculated from populationsize (n) commonlyconsidered "groups" by under- as well. Finally, the expected density of graduates: dyads, classrooms, neighbor- each of these communities,simply the ratio hoods, communities,demographic catego- of expectednumber of ties to the maximum ries, and even nations. Defining "group" possiblenumber of ties, can be easily calcu- accordingto densityprovides a conceptual lated in class. The results should demon- bridge for the undergraduatelinking these strate that as populationsize increases, otherwisedivergent social objects. It also overallnetwork density declines. challengesthe studentto move beyond a This mathematicallyunavoidable conse- binaryconception of group, and poses the quenceis relevantto a very practicaldebate more nuancedSimmelian question, "when aboutthe fate of social orderin the wake of is a group more a group, and when less modernization.While mass theory so?" (Simmel [1908] 1971:23-5).Bringing predictsthat the rise of large cities leads to the substantivelydisparate social objectsof the breakdownof socialorder as individuals nation,ethnic group and social clubunder a experiencethe resultingfrom low single structuralumbrella implies similar density in personalnetworks (Kornhauser social experiencesfor these objects. This 1959), urban subculturaltheory counters strongcontention may provokeuseful class- that even as networkdensity declines over- roomdebate. all, pocketsof particularlyhigh densitymay emerge surroundedby regions of particu- NetworkDensity: Application larly low density, fostering meaningful Networkdensity interacts with other struc- small communitieswithin a more massive turalcharacteristics, such as the numberof nominal community (Fischer 1982). By nodes in a social network.For example,a examining simple baseline expectations, baseline model of density and population studentscan directlyconfront the structural size establishes that the overall network natureof this dilemma. density of a populationis constrainedto decrease as populationsize increases, if Group Size and Intergroup Contact: individualsare reasonablyassumed to have CourseContent a finite capacity to form social ties Yet anothersurprising finding, also unher- (Mayhewand Levinger1976). To demon- alded in introductorytexts, is the powerful SOCIALNETWORKS IN THE INTRODUCTORYCOURSE 177 role thatthe size of differentgroups has on questionsuch as those from the GSS and the rateof intergroupcontact. When ties are NCCS. In addition, students should be symmetric,for every memberof a small askedto describethe racial/ethniccategory group tied to a memberof a large group, to which they considerthemselves to pri- theremust be a memberof thatlarge group marily belong, and to describe the ra- tied to a memberof that small group;the cial/ethniccategory to which they perceive absolutenumber of intergroupassociations their social networkcontacts to primarily is by definitionthe same for both groups belong. Finally,students should be askedto involved.However, the rate of inter-group identify whetheror not their contactsare associationsis greaterfor the small group also studentsat the college or university than for the large group, becausethe rate wherethe courseis beingtaught. for each groupequals the numberof inter- Before teachingcourse contenton associationsdivided by group size networks,instructors may tabulateand pre- (Blau 1977:20-3). Hence, the networksof sent informationregarding the rateof inter- members of small groups must be more racial contactin ties to fellow studentsfor diverse on average than the networksof differentracial/ethnic groups, and ask stu- membersof largegroups. This patternmust dents to come up with explanationsregard- occur regardlessof how ferventlyindividu- ing any apparentvariation. In my own als involveddesire otherwise,a classic ex- classroom,I have found that the explana- ampleof a "socialfact" (Durkheim 1982). tions studentstend to offer are highly indi- vidualistic and choice-oriented:if Latino GroupSize and IntergroupContact: Appli- studentshave more out-groupcontact than cation White students,for instance,students often While this aspect of social structureis not argue that the differenceis due to a lower remarkedupon by introductorysociology amountof individualprejudice among La- texts, it has strongimplications for the ex- tino students. perienceof studentstaking an introductory After introducingthe effect of groupsize course. For instance,the commonobserva- on intergroupcontact, instructorsmay re- tion that black Americansmust learn to visit the information,adding data on the navigate two social worlds, while white proportionof studentsin each racial/ethnic Americanshave the luxuryof largelyliving groupat the college or universitywhere the in only one social world, can be explained course is being taught(such aggregatedata in large part by the structuralconstraint can usuallybe obtainedfrom an 's describedby Blau. Includinga discussionof AdmissionsOffice). In a collegiateenviron- this networkphenomenon in an introductory ment characterizedby randomassociation class not only will help studentsto under- betweenracial-ethnic groups, the proportion stand social structurein an abstractsense, of studentcontacts of a certainracial/ethnic but may also help themto practicallyunder- group in students'social networkswould standthe rootsof theirown experiencesin a tendto be the sameas the proportionof that heterogeneous(or not so heterogeneous) racial/ethnicgroup in the overall student socialenvironment. population.Do the actual rates of inter- In that discussion, it may be useful to group contact for various racial/ethnic adopt a "pre-test/post-test"approach in groupsconform to or deviatefrom this ex- which studentsgrapple with the reality of pectation?If deviationsoccur, what could intergroup contact in their own social explainsuch deviations?In the ensuingdis- world. For large classes in which group cussion, considerationof the concepts of sizes are large enoughto avoidthe problem homophilyand foci as they apply to the of overdisclosure,an anonymoussurvey social settingsparticular to college life may distributedto studentsat the beginningof help studentsto considerthe impactof so- the semester may include a tie-eliciting cial structureon theirsocial experience. 178 TEACHINGSOCIOLOGY

Further ClassroomApplications from the Can studentsdetermine how manypeople in SociologicalLiterature the UnitedStates shouldknow someonein Additionalteaching tools in the area of so- militaryservice in Iraq, or how many peo- cial networksare eitherpresent in fully re- ple know someone who knows someone alized form in the sociologicalliterature or serving in Iraq?If so, they shouldalso be are easily adaptedfor teachingpurposes. able to calculatethe expected numberof Giuffreand Paxton(1997) have developed studentsin the classroomwho know (or an innovativeteaching exercise in which know someonewho knows) someoneserv- studentsliterally tie themselvesto one an- ing in Iraq. As in the exercise regarding other using string of various lengths that intergroupcontact, this numberis basedon restrictmovement and possibilitiesfor so- the assumptionthat social ties are evenly cial contact. Inequalitiesin this physical distributedwithin the UnitedStates, and not embodimentof socialstructure help students dividedalong lines of age, race, , examine connections between the social gender,region and class. Does this number structureof interactionand the social struc- based on students'calculations match the ture of inequality.I have foundthat expos- actualamount of studentswho know some- ing studentsto Emerson's(1962) theoryof one servingin Iraq?If not, why mightthat power and dependencehelps facilitatedis- be? cussionafter the exerciseis completed. In the areaof socialnetwork analysis con- CONCLUSION cernedwith the "smallworld" problem of network distance in populations,a good Instructorsof introductorysociology are place to begin is with a readingof Mil- continuallyfaced with a dilemma:on the gram'sclassic small-worldexperiment with one hand, researchcharacterized by both letters (Milgram 1967). Stevensonet al. vigor and rigor continuesto expand the (1997) describesa replicationof this experi- boundariesof the disciplineof sociology. ment in a universitysetting, with students On the otherhand, in orderto capturestu- askedto trackletters as theywind their way dents' sociological imagination,we must to universityadministrators. The detailed strive to make the discipline accessible. mannerin which the exercise is described Perhaps it is the highly quantitativeand invites furtherreplication in the classroom. technicalreputation of the burgeoningsocial To connectthe consequencesof small-world network traditionthat has kept its work networks to our experienceof important fromthe classroom,at least as measuredby worldevents, Bernard et al. (2001)use sim- inclusionin introductorytexts. Fortunately, ple algebrato determinehow manypeople as this articlehas attemptedto establish,this knewpeople who died in the attacksof Sep- exclusionis by no meansnecessary. On the tember 11, 2001, how many people knew contrary,the sociologicalliterature already people who knew people who died, and so offers a simple, fundamental,and widely on at increasingnetwork distances. Their applicablevision of social structurethat we estimatesshow how the small-worldeffect hope can bringstudents' sociological imagi- can lead to social proximityto a catastro- nationinto greaterfocus. The inclusionof phic event from whichmost individualsare core networktheoretical concepts would not physicallydistant. Because their paperwas only more completelyanswer undergradu- publishedin the weeks followingthe 2001 ates' questionsabout what sociologistsdo, attacks, the casualty estimates used are but would also provide fertile ground for highly inaccurate.Students may be askedto the plantingof seeds of furtherquestions in re-estimatethe number of individualsat students'minds, the full flower of which each additionalstep of networkdistance. As may result in a new generationof active the authors themselves point out, the sociologicalscholarship. methodcan be appliedto any social event. SOCIALNETWORKS IN THE INTRODUCTORYCOURSE 179

APPENDIX A. LIST OF STUDIED Sociologyin a ChangingWorld. 5th ed. Al- TEXTBOOKS (SUBTITLES OMITTED) bany,NY: InternationalThomson Publishing. Landis,Judson. 2001. Sociology. 11th ed. Bel- Bradshaw,York W., JosephF. Healey,and Re- mont,CA: Wadsworth Publishers. becca Smith.2001. Sociologyfor a New Cen- Lindsey,Linda L. andStephen Beach. 2001. Soci- tury.Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. ology.2d ed. UpperSaddle River, NJ: Prentice- Farley,John E. 1998. Sociology.4th ed. Upper Hall. SaddleRiver, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Macionis,John J. 2003. Sociology.9th ed. Upper Giddens,Anthony. 2001. Sociology.4th ed. Ox- SaddleRiver, NJ: Prentice-Hall. ford,: Blackwell Publishers. Newman, David M. 2002. Sociology. 4th ed. Henslin,James. 2002. Sociology.6th ed. Boston, ThousandOaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. MA:Allyn and Bacon. Smelser,Neil J. 1995. Sociology.5th ed. Engle- Karp,David and William C. Yoels. 1998.Sociol- woodCliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. ogy in EverydayLife. 2d ed. Long Grove,IL: Thio,Alex. 2003. Sociology.5th ed. Boston,MA: WavelandPress. Allynand Bacon. Komblum,William and Carolyn D. Smith.1999.

APPENDIX B. KEYWORDS USED IN SOCIOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS SUBJECT SEARCHESa

Subject Keywords SocialNetworks network,networks Deviance crime,criminal, deviance, deviant Stratification stratification,inequality, segmentation, income, wealth, sexism, racism, ageism, class,, discrimination, occupational structure Religion religion,religions, religious, religiosity Aging aging,ageism, elderly, elder abuse, gerontology a SociologicalAbstracts field searcheswere conducted for all descriptorfields ("DE") and subject head- ings ("SH")of whichthe above words or phraseswere a part.

REFERENCES The FreePress. Emerson, Richard M. 1962. "Power- Bell, DavidC., JohnS. Atkinson,and Jerry W. DependenceRelations." American Sociologi- Carlson.1999. "CentralityMeasures for Dis- cal Review27:31-40. ease TransmissionNetworks." Social Net- Feld, ScottL. 1981. "TheFocused Organization works21:1-21. of Social Ties." AmericanJournal of Sociol- Bernard,H. Russell,Peter D. Killworth,Eugene ogy 86:1015-35. C. Johnsen,Gene A. Shelley,and Christopher Fischer, Claude. 1982. To Dwell Among McCarty.2001. "Estimatingthe RippleEffect Friends.Chicago, IL: Universityof Chicago of a Disaster."Connections 24:30-4. Press. Blau,Peter M. 1977.Inequality and Heterogene- Frank,Ove. 2001. "StatisticalEstimation of Co- ity. New York:Free Press. OffendingYouth Networks." Social Networks Breiger,Ronald. 1974. "TheDuality of Persons 23:203-14. andGroups." Social Forces 53:181-90. Giuffre, Katherineand Pamela Paxton. 1997. Canter,David and LaurenceAlison. 1999. The "BuildingSocial Networks."Teaching Sociol- Social Psychologyof Crime:Groups, Teams ogy 25:207-13. andNetworks. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing. Gould,Roger V. 1991. "MultipleNetworks and Carley, Kathleen.1991. "A Theory of Group Mobilizationin the Paris Commune,1871." Stability." American Sociological Review AmericanSociological Review 56:716-29. 56:331-54. Granovetter,Mark. 1973. "The Strength of Durkheim, Emile. 1982. "What is a Social Weak Ties." AmericanJournal of Sociology Fact?"Pp. 50-9 in The Rules of Sociological 78:1360-80. Method,edited by StevenLukes. New York: Institutefor ScientificInformation. 2005. Jour- 180 TEACHINGSOCIOLOGY

nal CitationReports. Retrieved February 25, Milgram, Stanley. 1967. "The Small World 2005 (http://isi2.isiknowledge.com). Problem."Psychology Today May:60-7. Knoke, David. 1990. Political Networks:The Morris,Martina and Mirjam Kretzschmar. 1995. StructuralPerspective. Cambridge: Cambridge "ConcurrentPartnerships and Transmission UniversityPress. Dynamics in Networks." Social Networks Kornblum,William and Carolyn D. Smith. 17:299-318. 1999. Sociologyin a ChangingWorld. 5th ed. Renzulli,Linda A., HowardAldrich, and James Albany, NY: InternationalThomson Publish- Moody.2000. "FamilyMatters: Gender, Net- ing. worksand EntrepreneurialOutcomes." Social Kornhauser,William. 1959. ThePolitics of Mass Forces79:523-46. Society.New York:The FreePress. Scott, John. 1991. Social NetworkAnalysis: A Lin, Nan. 2001. Social Capital:A Theoryof Handbook.New York:Sage Publications. SocialStructure and Action. Cambridge: Cam- Sikora,James and TeodoraO. Amoloza.2000. bridgeUniversity Press. IntroductorySociology Resource Manual. 5th Louch,Hugh. 2000. "PersonalNetwork Integra- ed. Washington,DC: ASA Teaching Re- tion:Transitivity and Homophily in Strong-Tie sourcesCenter. Relations."Social Networks 22:45-64. Simmel,Georg. 1955. Conflictand the Webof Mark, Noah. 1998. "Birdsof a FeatherSing GroupAffiliations. New York:Free Press. Together."Social Forces 77:453-85. . [ 1908] 1971. On Individualityand Social Mayhew,Bruce H. and Roger Levinger.1976. Forms.Reprint, Chicago, IL: The University "Sizeand the Densityof Interactionin Human of ChicagoPress. Aggregates."American Journal of Sociology Stevenson,William B., BarbaraDavidson, Ivan 81:1017-49. Manev, and Kate Walsh. 1997. "The Small McAdam,Doug. 1986. "Recruitmentto High- Worldof the University."Connections 20:23- Risk Activism:The Case of FreedomSum- 33. mer." AmericanJournal of Sociology92:64- Tischler,Henry. 1988. "Textbooksas a Reflec- 90. tion of the Discipline."Teaching Sociology McPherson,J. Miller and Lynn Smith-Lovin. 16:370-2. 1987. "Homophilyin VoluntaryOrganiza- Turner,Jonathan. 2001. The Structureof Socio- tions: StatusDistance and the Compositionof logical Theory. 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Face-to-FaceGroups." American Sociological Wadsworth. Review52:370-9. Wasserman,Stanley and KatherineFaust. 1994. McPherson,J. Miller,Pamela A. Popielarz,and Social NetworkAnalysis: Methods and Appli- Sonja Drobnic. 1992. "SocialNetworks and cations.New York:Cambridge University. OrganizationalDynamics." American Socio- Review JamesM. Cookis assistantprofessor of sociology logical 57:153-70. at Duke His researchinterests include J. and University. McPherson, Miller, Lynn Smith-Lovin, politicalsociology and socialnetworks. His current JamesM. Cook. 2001. "Birdsof a Feather: teachingproject is the samplingof protestevents via Homophilyin Social Networks.Annual Re- photographyand sound recording as a wayof introduc- viewof Sociology27:415-44. ingthe structure of protestto students.