Undergraduate Prerequisites: For Advanced Methods in Social Networks - Students should have taken a course in the fundamentals of social networks. - Topics seminar that takes in-depth look at a social issue. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Two topics are offered Fall 2021. Section A1: Meritocracy. This course critically evaluates the concept of "meritocracy," its origins and contemporary adoption as an ideal worth striving for. What would a true meritocracy look like, what are its societal implications and what social processes may stand in its way? Section B2: Advanced Methods in Social Networks. Course covers applications of common advanced methodologies in the analysis of social networks like blockmodeling, ERGM, topic modeling and HLM for ego networks. Focus will be applications of methodologies analyzing small and medium size network data. Topic for Spring 2022, Section A1: The Craft of Theorizing Research. Research projects are like gems that need polishing and the craft of polishing them to uncover a theoretical contribution can partly be learned. This intensive course is designed to help participants polish their gems-in- the- making and sharpen their emerging contributions. The seminar is primarily designed for doctoral students who have already collected and/or analyzed data. The common denominator for participants is that they be engaged in research projects reliant on qualitative or quantitative data (e.g., archives, interviews, field observations, and surveys) and be willing to share with the class a draft analytical memo, paper, or chapter from their research.

Note that this information may change at any time. Please visit the MyBU Student Portal for the most up-to-date course information.