Scholars of Excellence Lunch & Learn: Building, Bridging, and Creating Community Through Networks

Join us for an engaging Lunch & Learn session with Bridging Divides Scholar of Excellence Caroline Haythornthwaite (Syracuse University, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaignas) as she explores how social networks, both online and offline, play a crucial role in how we access information, build trust and strengthen communities. From the power of strong and weak social ties to the influence of social media technologies, this talk will unpack the ways networks shape our interactions on multiple scale.

Caroline will discuss how different social network configurations enable connections between people, facilitate the flow of information, and bridge social distances. She’ll also delve into how platforms like social media transform information dissemination and impact our perceptions of trust and credibility in the digital age.

Bring your questions and curiosity, and stay for lunch afterward!

About the speaker

Caroline Haythornthwaite (opens in new window)  is Professor Emerita, Syracuse University and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC). She was Professor in the School of Information Sciences at UIUC, 1996 to 2010; Director and Professor, School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at The University of British Columbia, 2010 to 2016; and Professor in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University, 2016 to 2021. Extended visiting positions include a year as Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professor at the Institute of Education, University of London (2009-10); and as Visiting Researcher, Brazilian Institute for Information in Science and Technology (2009). Prior to her academic career she spent 10 years in the computing industry, notably with I.P. Sharp Associates in Toronto, Canada. Major publications include The Internet in Everyday Life (2002, with Barry Wellman), the first collection of empirical studies on how being online fits into everyday lives; and E-learning Theory and Practice (2011, with Richard Andrews), addressing the transformative effects of learning on and through the internet. In 2017, she received the ASIS&T, Research Award in Information Science in recognition of outstanding research contribution in the field of information science. Caroline can be reached at chaythor@syr.edu. 

As a Bridging Divides Scholar of Excellence, Caroline's research focus is on social networks, virtual communities, online and e-learning, and learning analytics, along with her current examination of social media issues, to explore topics such as information access, participation in open online contexts, formal, informal, and non-formal learning online, and the role of community and belonging in immigrant life and lifelong learning.