The New (Old) Connectivity

James Fowler

Syllabus: http://jhfowler.ucsd.edu/teaching/syllabus_cat3.html

 The public is obsessed with social networking and the new ways to connect online, but scholars have been studying connectivity for decades.  New research shows that if you want to understand this new phenomenon, you have to start with the real, everyday, face-to-face networks we have always had, ever since we were huddled around campfires on the Serengeti.  We will explore the many ways in which social networks have a powerful effect on a wide range of human behaviors. With a foundation in understanding real world networks, we can then consider how these networks function online.