The Sociology of Connections: How Social Networks Sort People and Things

Inaugural Lecture: Professor Lasse Folke Henriksen at the Department of Sociology, KU

Lasse Folke Henriksen, a leading figure in social networks research, was appointed as Professor at the Department of Sociology on September 1, 2026.

Few concepts in sociology are as malleable, and productive, as the social network. Networks let us move between scales, from face-to-face interaction to entire populations and institutions, and between methods, from fieldwork to models of complex contagion. What unites these uses is a simple commitment: to study the real connections between people, not only the categories we place them in.

In his inaugural lecture, Henriksen presents his commitment to that agenda through his own research: from transnational professional networks that write the rules for global markets, to the networks binding corporate and political elites in Denmark, to labor markets, where colleagues and contacts shape who gets hired and gets ahead. Finally, he will share ideas from a new project asking whether ADHD and autism diagnoses spread through networks of families, schools and clinicians. Across these settings, networks do two kinds of work: they sort things, such as standards, ideas and categories, and they sort people into unequal positions.

After the lecture, the Department of Sociology will host a reception in building 35, in front of auditorium 35-01-06, where all are welcome. 

Program