Six Degrees of Cass Sunstein: Collaboration Networks in Legal Scholarship

Green Bag 2d, Vol. 11, No. 1, p. 19, 2007

Vanderbilt Law and Economics Research Paper No. 07-23

21 Pages Posted: 14 Jul 2007 Last revised: 14 Nov 2007

See all articles by Paul H. Edelman

Paul H. Edelman

Vanderbilt University - Law School

Tracey E. George

Vanderbilt University - Law School

Abstract

Degrees of separation is a concept that is intuitive and appealing in popular culture as well as academic discourse: It tells us something about the connectedness of a particular field. It also reveals paths of influence and access. Paul Erdős was the Kevin Bacon of his field - math - coauthoring with a large number of scholars from many institutions and across subfields. Moreover, his work was highly cited and important. Mathematicians talk about their Erdős number (i.e., numbers of degrees of separation) as a sign of their connection to the hub of mathematics: An Erdős number of 2 means a scholar did not co-author with Erdős but did collaborate with someone who did (i.e., an Erdős 1). In this study, we examine collaboration networks in law, searching for the Legal Erdős. We crown Sunstein as the Legal Erdős and name a complete (as possible) list of Sunstein 1s and 2s.

Keywords: Legal Scholarship, Legal Education, Law Schools, Network Theory, Collaboration, Rankings

Suggested Citation

Edelman, Paul H. and George, Tracey E., Six Degrees of Cass Sunstein: Collaboration Networks in Legal Scholarship. Green Bag 2d, Vol. 11, No. 1, p. 19, 2007, Vanderbilt Law and Economics Research Paper No. 07-23, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1000689 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1000689

Paul H. Edelman

Vanderbilt University - Law School ( email )

131 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37203-1181
United States
615-322-0990 (Phone)
615-322-6631 (Fax)

Tracey E. George (Contact Author)

Vanderbilt University - Law School ( email )

131 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37203-1181
United States

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