It’s a little surreal to be saying this (grad school truly has flown by) but next semester I will be teaching my first class. As one might imagine, the title of the class is Online Social Networks. For those at UNC, the class is INLS 490.151, meeting Wednesdays from 6-8:30.
The class will take a holistic look at social networks as they manifest online. And when you think about it, social networks are everywhere – from Facebook and Myspace to weblog and community networks, and even the networks that power the ranking algorithms used by search engines such as Google. The goal of the course is get a good theoretical understanding of these networks, and then examine them in a primary context of social network websites.
We’ll read stuff from Barabasi and Watts, as well as Goffman and Turkle (to give you an idea of the range). We’ll cover a good bit of ongoing social networks research, and we’ll definitely get a little hands-on with regards to exploring these dynamic social networks.
Now – before you write me and ask for the syllabus, please note that the syllabus is still being designed. I’ll be happy to send you a preliminary syllabus in a few weeks, but you can expect that I’ll still be tweaking it over the summer (as new work is published). This course won’t require the application of mathematics, but one may assume that some of the reading will cover mathematical concepts.
I’m expecting a pretty strong response to this course, so please register early. At the same time, there will be very limited space for audits.
In other news, I just found out that I’ve been admitted to the Oxford Internet Institute’s Summer Doctoral Program. The program will be held in Cambridge, MA for two weeks late in July. I’m really looking forward to it – if you’re in Boston drop me a line!
ooh, fred – i’d really like to see the syllabus once it’s ready for public consumption!
with a class like this, i highly encourage hands-on stuff (as you mention). letting students use the tools is one of the best ways to help them understand the tools.
sounds like a great course.
Hey that’s great news. Pop on up to Vermont for some peace and quiet if you have the time.
Good question from Cal – who can get credit for this class. Here is the answer:
A course numbered as INLS 490 range allows both graduates and undergraduates
to take the class. It will cound toward the masters degree. Anything 400 to
699 is considered a graduate/undergraduate class. Anything below 399 is
strictly for undergrads and anything above 700 is for graduate students
only. If the course was numbered 890 then it would only allow graduate
students to take it. Hope this clears things up.
And I wonder how much does it cost to audit such a course at UNC…?
I hope you’ll post/link to the syllabus here when you have it.
I am in Boston… hope to catch up with you while you are here during the summer. As a Brit, it sounds a little strange to learn that the Oxford Institute program is being held in Cambridge… or even that it’s spelt “program”…