Social networks (Summer 2026)
Course content
How do the people you know affect the life you live? How does the web of those relationships affect society? We call these webs of relationships “social networks,” and they are some of the fundamental building blocks of social life.
This course introduces the core concepts about how we form connections in social life, and how those mechanisms affect culture, inequality, and politics. The course also introduces social network analysis, a set of quantitative and computational methodological tools, so as to help make sense of these topics in a scientific way.
Throughout the course we will discuss how (mis-)information, ideas, and diseases spread through society, how the people close to you and how people you barely know affect your beliefs and behavior, and how the structure of relationships in society affects the formation of inequalities on both small- and big-scales, among other things.
BA and MA elective course
The course is open to:
- Exchange and Guest students from abroad
- Credit students from Danish Universities
Full-degree students enrolled at the Faculty of Social Science, UCPH
- Bachelor and Master Programmes in Political Science
- Bachelor and Master Programmes in Psychology
- Bachelor and Master Programmes in Economics
- Master Programme in Social Data Science
- Master Programme in Global Development
- Master Programe in Security Risk Management
Specialisation line/course package:
Welfare, inequality and mobility
Knowledge, organisation and policy
Culture, lifestyle and everyday life
Knowledge:
- Identify key concepts and principles relating to how social networks affect everyday life
- Explain how network structures constrain and enable social life across a variety of contexts
- Enumerate the mechanisms through which networks affect the spread of ideas, culture, and contagions
Skills:
- Use social networks concepts and principles to analyze specific cases
- Apply basic social network analysis techniques to social network data
Competences:
- Reason about which network principles, structures, mechanisms, or models are the most likely to be relevant to one situation or another
- Critically reflect on the role that networks play in their own lives
Lectures, exercises, student presentations.
Readings will rely on a mix of textbook readings (about 50%), and research articles and books (about 50%).
Basic arithmetic and algebra
When registered you will be signed up for exam.
- Full-degree students – sign up at Selfservice on KUnet
- Exchange and guest students from abroad – sign up through Mobility Online and Selfservice- read more through this website.
- Credit students from Danish universities - sign up through this website.
The dates for the exams are found here Exams – Faculty of Social Sciences - University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)
Please note that it is your own responsibility to check for overlapping exam date.
- ECTS
- 7,5 ECTS
- Type of assessment
-
Home assignment
- Type of assessment details
- The students are required to formulate their own exam questions
based on pre-defined guidelines provided by the teacher. Students
will receive the exam guidelines for formulating exam questions
during the ongoing semester. The teacher is required to provide at
least two exemplary exam questions that adhere to the guidelines.
The exam can be written individually or in groups of max. 4 students.
Length of the exam is 10 pages + 5 pages pr. extra group member. - Examination prerequisites
-
To get qualified to the exam, the students must have completed a classroom presentation.
- Aid
- All aids allowed
The Department of Sociology prohibits the use of generative AI software and large language models (AI/LLMs), such as ChatGPT, for generating novel and creative content in written exams. However, students may use AI/LLMs to enhance the presentation of their own original work, such as text editing, argument validation, or improving statistical programming code. Students must disclose in an appendix if and how AI/LLMs were used; this appendix will not count toward the page limit of the exam. This policy is in place to ensure that students’ written exams accurately reflect their own knowledge and understanding of the material. All students are required to include an AI declaration in their exam submissions regardless of whether they have used generative AI software or not. This declaration should be placed as the last page of the exam submission. Please note that the AI statement is not included in the calculation of the overall length of your assignment. The template for the AI statement can be found in the Digital Exam system and on the Study Pages on KUnet under “Written exam”. Exams that do not declare if and how AI/LLMs were used will be administratively rejected and counted as one exam attempt.
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- No external censorship
- Exam period
-
Exam information:
The examination date can be found in the exam schedule here
The exact time and place will be available in Digital Exam from the middle of the semester.
- Re-exam
-
Reexam info:
The reexamination date/period can be found in the reexam schedule here
Same as the ordinary exam.
Criteria for exam assessment
Please see the learning outcome.
- Category
- Hours
- Class Instruction
- 42
- Preparation
- 38
- Practical exercises
- 6
- Exam Preparation
- 60
- Exam
- 60
- English
- 206
Kursusinformation
- Language
- English
- Course number
- ASOA22212U
- ECTS
- 7,5 ECTS
- Programme level
- Bachelor
Full Degree Master
- Placement
- Summer
- Schedulegroup
-
Week 32 + 33
- Studyboard
- Department of Sociology, Study Council
Contracting department
- Department of Sociology
- Department of Anthropology
- Department of Psychology
- Department of Political Science
- Social Data Science
- Department of Economics
Contracting faculty
- Faculty of Social Sciences
Course Coordinator
- Andrew Christopher Herman (13-65726876697b326c697671657244777367326f7932686f)
Se skema
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Kursusinformation for indskrevne studerende