Capital and Social Capital

Dad Joke

  • Who is in favour of bringing Roman numerals back into use?
  • I for one!

Housekeeping

  • Who Dunnit game on Thursday!

Final Project

  • Group project: network-based intervention (e.g., spreading an idea on campus)
  • (Group?) research project: analysis of network data
  • Project idea due in 2 weeks

R Review

G |>
  ggraph(layout='kk') +
  geom_edge_fan(width=.5, color='#CFB991') +
  geom_node_point()
  • What does the + do?
  • What does the |> do?
  • What does layout='kk' do?
  • What does width=.5 do?

Reading Questions

  • What is a weak tie?
  • What is the argument for why weak ties are better for finding information?
  • What are strong ties better for?
  • How does a network of strong ties look different from a network with weak ties?

Reading Questions

  • What is capital?
  • What is economic capital?
  • What is cultural capital?
  • What is social capital?

Break!

Reading Questions

  • We can exchange forms of capital for goods, services, or for other kinds of capital.
  • What’s an example of exchanging cultural capital for social capital and vice versa?
  • What’s an example of exchanging social capital for economic capital and vice versa?
  • What’s an example of exchanging economic capital for cultural capital and vice versa?

Criticism

  • What aspects of the concept of capital and social capital ring true to you? What feels like it is missing from this theory?

Discussion Questions

  • How can we measure the strength of ties?
  • When are strong ties better for finding information?
  • Do the different types of capital have to be self-reinforcing?
  • Should outcomes like career success be understood as purely individual achievement, structural advantage, a combination of both, or something else entirely?
  • Do online communities fulfill the same roles as bowling leagues, etc? How are they better and worse?

Discussion Questions

  • How does declining social capital weaken democracy?
  • What does it mean that social capital does not function as a universal means of exchange?
  • Have you ever had an interaction/relationship with somewhere where it was clear they were trying to be a “social climber”, how did that interaction make you feel? What are some good examples and bad examples of how social climbing could happen?
  • Are elite universities selling cultural capital or social capital?
  • Is a community people who agree with each other or people who need each other?

Summary

R Review