Nan Lin

Nan Lin (born August 2, 1938 in Chongqing ) is a professor of sociology at Duke University .

His research areas are in the field of social networks and social capital , stress and health (especially the role of social support ), social stratification , mobility and Chinese society.

He was one of the first researchers to investigate the role of social networks in social capital. He takes an actor-centered approach to the role of social networks in mobilizing resources . In this regard, he makes 12 assumptions (see Lin 2001):

1. structural postulate (Chapter 3)
2. the interaction postulate (ch. 3 and 4)
3. the network postulate (ch. 3 and 4)
4. the definition (ch. 2-4)
5. the action postulate
6. the return on social capital
7. the strength of "Ego" 's structural starting position
8. the acceptance of strength through strong relationships
9. the assumption about the strength of weak relationships (see Granovetter )
10. assuming the strength of the situation
11. the interaction effect of location and position
12. the contingency of the structure

For Lin, social capital is the amount of resources that actors can reach and mobilize through their contacts. The main focus is on acting deliberately. Social capital is created through investing in relationships. This results in information and control advantages, as well as a strengthening of your own personality. Variations result from the number of contacts, the strength of the relationship and the resources of the contacts. (cf. Lin 2001)

literature

• Nan Lin: Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action . Cambridge University Press, NY 2001

Web links

• Nan Lin's homepage at Duke University
• Nan Lin: "Building a Network Theory of Social Capital" (PDF; 1.9 MB)