Neha Gondal
I am an assistant professor in the department of sociology and the faculty of computing and data sciences at Boston University.
My research is focused on the relationship between social networks, culture, and inequalities. Three interwoven themes animate my work. First, I offer a critical perspective on structural social network analysis arguing that social networks are cultural constructions. Second, I use a social networks lens to investigate the production and dissemination of cultural meanings and practices. And third, I explore how social networks as cultural constructs are implicated in the consolidation and reproduction of inequalities.
I draw on a variety of cutting-edge methodological approaches such as exponential random graph models, data mining, topic-modeling, agent-based simulations, and multi-level models in my research.
My work has focused on disparate contexts including lending ties in Renaissance Florence, academic inequalities, public health issues, and, most recently, diversity management strategies. My research has been supported by two NIH R01 grants as well as several other grants and fellowships. Use the links above to learn more about my research in these areas. My most recent CV can be found here.
I have been an elected council member of three ASA sections – Economic Sociology (2019-22), Mathematical Sociology (2019-22), and Rationality and Society (2016-18). I am currently chair of the Rationality and Society section. Finally, I have also served on the editorial boards of the discipline’s leading journals including American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Social Forces, Poetics, and Sociological Methodology. I am currently deputy editor of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.