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BUILDING SOCIAL NETWORKS*
As NETWORK THEORY and methodology have improved, so have empirical applications. One area of research involves the examination of social structure constraining some actors while enhancing the opportunities of others (Burt 1992; Sewell 1992; Wellman 1992). Instructors should expose students to this new and interesting area of research. Much of the reading is complex, however, and difficult to illustrate in a lecture. In this paper, we propose an exercise that allows students to build a physical network of ties and then experience, firsthand, how it can influence opportunities.
In the exercise, students are divided into two groups and given different constraints on their ability to form networks of personal ties. Specifically, the class builds a social network among its members, using string to represent ties between actors.' In building ties, the students follow a set of rules that differ depending on their group membership (privileged group or unprivileged group). Once they create their networks, the instructor distributes a valuable good to students and their access to this good depends on the ties that they have made to others. The differing constraints on the two groups guarantee that the "privileged" students will always have more access to the valuable good. Students can then examine the results of these differences in opportunity and discuss the analogies between the constraints of the exercise and real-life constraints.
The basic exercise can be used in a variety of substantive contexts. In this paper, we focus on job opportunities. This is a logical topic since the process of finding a job is often a process of using personal networks to one's advantage. Additionally, some groups of people in our society are consistently more employed and better employed than other groups (Granovetter 1974).
Network analysis provides a unique approach for showing students how people are matched to jobs. Using networks permits students to understand the structural constraints on opportunity. That is, rather than relying on bias theories (employers are racist/sexist), or deficiency theories (the unemployed are unemployable due to their own deficiencies), or a culture of poverty, network analysis allows students to see the limits on opportunity that depend purely on social structure. Furthermore, network analysis allows students to break down the traditional categorical attributes of race, sex,...