Introduction
The
Center for Advanced Study’s interdisciplinary initiative
for academic year 2005-06 will examine the workings of networks
across the sciences, arts, and humanities. It aims to advance
the dialog among scholars engaging the large set of concepts
and methods aimed at uncovering the structure, infrastructure,
and properties of complex networks. This project will draw
on scholarship in computer science, humanities, engineering,
life sciences, law, organizational sciences and social sciences
in order to take an in-depth look at socio-technical networks
and theories for self-generating, self-organizing networks.
It will undoubtedly reveal many ironies, ambiguities, and
contradictions -- precisely those shifting areas where we
are likely to discover basic human and societal values.
This
CAS initiative will include a faculty/graduate student seminar
and a series of distinguished speakers. An edited volume
is projected.
Noshir
Contractor 
(Speech Communication) and Dan Schiller
(Library and Information Science) have been appointed CAS
Resident Associates for Fall 2005. They will coordinate
the faculty/graduate student seminar and oversee the book
project with help from the steering committee
.
