How Social Networks Influence Everything
The Individual & the Collective - HNRS 2364

Instructor(s): Martin Jones

Course Description

Did Ross influence Joey in Friends? Have Tesla cars sparked copycats? Did Mozart change Ozzy Osbourne? Are school shootings happening in clusters? Why are more sports teams not innovative? Could we have stopped the spread of covid? These questions can be answered by understanding and measuring networks, especially social status and how people interact with each other. 


Social status and social networks permeate through nearly everything from literature to business. Deep societal and personal questions can be partly answered by understanding and measuring networks, especially social status (e.g., popularity and “being cool”) and how people interact with each other within social networks. This includes understanding how popularity and social status affects oneself and others through social networks in the arts, sciences, businesses, engineering, and other disciplines.


Thus, social networks influence nearly everything…and you will learn how power, popularity, and people influence their social networks.


No Fees. No Trips.

Texts

No required textbooks. Required journal articles available from UNM Library. R Statistical Software (available free online)

Requirements

  1. Social Status Paper

Write a paper analyzing the social status and popularity of a topic in your discipline (popular culture examples encouraged). 

  1. Social Network Project

The major project of the class is conducting original research using social network analysis software to a question or interest within your field. 

  1. Social Network Project Presentations

You will share your Social Network Project with your classmates in a non-boring way.

About the Instructor(s): Martin Jones

Dr. Jones is an internationally recognized expert on how peer relationships affect all students' learning experiences. To this end, he studies how peer relationships impact learners' social well-being and academic functioning, with a particular focus on students with special needs and ethnically diverse learners. He is an award-winning teacher, Fulbright scholar, and edited two books on social goals and peer relationships.