In Communities and Networks, Katherine Giuffre takes the science of social network analysis and applies it to key issues of living in communities, especially in urban areas, exploring questions such as: How do communities shape our lives and identities? How do they foster either conformity or innovation? What holds communities together and what happens when they fragment or fall apart? How is community life changing in response to technological advances?
Refreshingly accessible and built on fascinating case examples, this unique book provides not only the theoretical grounding necessary to understand how and why the burgeoning area of social network analysis can be useful in studying communities, but also clear technical explanations of the tools of network analysis and how to gather and analyze real-world network data. Network analysis allows us to see community life in a new perspective, with sometimes surprising results and insights, and this book enables readers to gain a deeper understanding of social life and the relationships that build (and break) communities.
This engaging text will be an exciting new resource for upper-level undergraduate and beginning graduate students in a wide range of courses including social network analysis, community studies, urban studies, organizational studies, and quantitative methods.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: What is network analysis and how can it be useful?
Chapter 2: What is a community? Where does it come from?
Chapter 3: What do communities do for us?
Chapter 4: How do communities shape identity?
Chapter 5: What happens when communities become fractured?
Chapter 6: How do communities mobilize for collective action and social movements?
Chapter 7: How do communities foster creativity and innovation?
Chapter 8: How do new communities differ from traditional communities?
Glossary of Network Terms
References
About the Author :
Katherine Giuffre is associate professor of sociology at Colorado College.
Review :
"Katherine Giuffre reveals the deep underlying relational commonalities of such diverse contexts as small town life at the end of Weimar, the Salem witch-frenzy, Boston's East End, and the rise of Apple in Silicon Valley with richly textured description carried by elegantly clear prose that makes reading Communities and Networks both incredibly informative and delightful."
—Peter Bearman, Columbia University
"If you are looking for a compelling introduction to basic concepts and methods of social network modeling that will expand your imagination and help you become a more astute analyst of society and culture, then this is the book for you. Katherine Giuffre writes with insight and verve."
—Ronald Breiger, University of Arizona
"Forty years ago, people thought of community as a neighborhood. Now social networks have busted the boundaries of communities. They are far-flung and much more than village-like solidarities. The Internet and Mobile Revolutions have pushed these processes even further: community is now in our pocket and on our screens. Communities have become networks; networks have become communities. Katherine Giuffre tells this story well, and supplies solid evidence to clinch the tale."
—Barry Wellman, University of Toronto
"Giuffre's Communities and Networks is one of the clearest and most engaging introductions to adopting a network perspective on urban and community issues and, by covering a wide range of substantive topics, will be of great interest to a broad audience of students." (Urban Studies, 2016)
"Throughout the book, Giuffre attempts to explain the importance of social network analysis by using case studies from diverse communities (where abortion was legal, activism in local neighborhoods, and the ever-popular Silicon Valley) and by ending some chapters with technical details on how to gather and analyze real data. Her chapters are dedicated to broad but important questions." (Information, Communication & Society)
