Keith Hampton
Encyclopedia
Keith Hampton

Keith N. Hampton (born 1973) is an Assistant Professor of Communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...

 at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania
Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania
The Annenberg School for Communication is the communications school at the University of Pennsylvania. The school was established in 1958 by Wharton School's alum Walter Annenberg as "The Annenberg School of Communications." The name was changed to its current title in the late 1980's.Walter...

. His research interests focus on the relationship between information and communication technology, such as the Internet, social networks, and community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...

.

Recent research explores such subjects as social interaction in public spaces the role of technology in social isolation
Social isolation
Social isolation refers to a lack of contact with society for members of social species. There may be many causes and individuals in numerous generally social species are isolated at times, it need not be a pathological condition. In human society, in those cases where it is viewed as a pathology,...

, and the role of the Internet in neighborhood interactions and relationships.

Early life

Hampton received his B.A. (Bachelor’s) in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

, with honours, from the University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...

. He completed his graduate work at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

, where he trained with Barry Wellman
Barry Wellman
Barry Wellman, FRSC directs NetLab as the S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto. His areas of research are community sociology, the Internet, human-computer interaction and social structure, as manifested in social networks in communities and organizations...

. He received an M.A. in sociology in 1998, and a Ph.D in Sociology in 2001. His dissertation, “Living the wired life in the wired suburb: Netville, glocalization and civil society” received top honors from both the International Communication Association
International Communication Association
The International Communication Association is a non-profit academic association founded in 1950 as the National Society for the Study of Communication , whose members are interested in the study, teaching, and application of all aspects of human communication." The Association maintains an...

’s Communication and Technology division, and the Media Ecology Association.

Academic Appointments

After receiving his doctorate, Hampton joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...

 faculty as the first professor of “technology and the city” in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning. He taught at MIT from 2001 through 2005 before joining the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania
Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania
The Annenberg School for Communication is the communications school at the University of Pennsylvania. The school was established in 1958 by Wharton School's alum Walter Annenberg as "The Annenberg School of Communications." The name was changed to its current title in the late 1980's.Walter...

 faculty as an Assistant Professor of Communication.
He played a leading role in transforming the focus of the American Sociological Association
American Sociological Association
The American Sociological Association , founded in 1905 as the American Sociological Society , is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology by serving sociologists in their work and promoting their contributions to serve society.The ASA holds its...

’s section on "Microcomputing" to its current formation as the section on Communication and Information Technologies (CITASA). He served as chair of the American Sociological Association
American Sociological Association
The American Sociological Association , founded in 1905 as the American Sociological Society , is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology by serving sociologists in their work and promoting their contributions to serve society.The ASA holds its...

’s section on Communication and Information Technologies from 2007–2009, and past-chair from 2009-2010.

i-Neighbors

Hampton created the website www.i-Neighbors.org, which helps users to form virtual communities that correspond to physical neighbourhoods. The site informs research on how Internet use affords local interactions, facilitates community involvement, and contributes to social capital
Social capital
Social capital is a sociological concept, which refers to connections within and between social networks. The concept of social capital highlights the value of social relations and the role of cooperation and confidence to get collective or economic results. The term social capital is frequently...

. In 2007 Hampton received an award for Public Sociology from the American Sociological Association’s Section on Communication and Information Technologies for his work on i-Neighbors.org.

Publications

Hampton is the author of more than 30 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He has also authored a Pew Internet and American Life report on the Internet and Social Isolation in America with Lauren Sessions Goulet, Eun Ja Her, and Lee Rainie. His Erdős number
Erdos number
The Erdős number describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.The same principle has been proposed for other eminent persons in other fields.- Overview :...

is 4.

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