Overview
I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociology at Cornell University. I study how inequality shapes and is shaped by social networks. My work employs innovative quantitative approaches to study complex data structures in interdisciplinary areas. I have extensive experience in managing over 24 independent US datasets. I have three lines of interrelated research.
The first line of my research is on social capital and how it interacts with social inequality. A second line of my research examines the sequential relationship between social disadvantage, network dynamics, and health. In a series of papers, my collaborators and I use multiple longitudinal network data to demonstrate how pre-existing social disadvantage is associated with less favorable network features in later life, how contextual factors directly influence network churn independent of socioeconomic status, and how increased network resources contribute to functional health from a cross-cultural perspective. Along this line of research, I also study how social networks together with the criminal justice system exacerbate social inequality. Using population-based longitudinal network data, I collaborate with Benjamin Cornwell to find that incarceration has long-term destabilizing effects on personal networks.
The third line of my research examines business networks and the role of geographic distance in their formation and evolution. Drawing on socio-centric network data on venture capital investment, I collaborate with Cristobal Young to demonstrate the geographic distribution of VC investment ties since 1995. We discuss the mechanisms through which physical proximity matters for the formation of a high-stakes business network.
Research Focus
- Social Networks
- Social Inequality
- Aging and Health
- Computational Social Science
Affiliation
Center for the Study of Inequality (CSI), Cornell University
Cornell Population Center (CPC)
Cornell Center for Social Sciences (CCSS)
Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications
Feng, Nan. 2023. “Social Disadvantage, Context and Network Dynamics in Later Life.” European Journal of Ageing 20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-023-00767-w
Guo, Qiuju, Xiang Gao, Fei Sun, and Nan Feng. 2019. “Filial Piety and Intergenerational Ambivalence among Mother–adult Child Dyads in Rural China.” Ageing & Society 1-16. 10.1017/S0144686X19000783
Guo, Qiuju, Xue Bai, and Nan Feng. 2018. “Social Participation and Depressive Symptoms among Chinese Older Adults: A Study on Rural–urban Differences.” Journal of Affective Disorders 239: 124-130. 10.1016/j.jad.2018.06.036
Selected Grants, Fellowships, and Awards
2023 Research Funds, the American Studies Program, Cornell University
2023 Center for the Study of Inequality Travel Grant, Cornell University
2023 Sunbelt-2023-INSNA Travel Award
2023 Center for the Study of Inequality Seed Grant, Cornell University
2021 Clifford C. Clogg Scholarship in Sociology, University of Michigan, ICPSR Council
Teaching
I have been a teaching assistant for the following courses:
2019-21, 2024 Introduction to Sociology, Sociology
2023 Life Sciences and Society, Science & Technology Studies
2022 Social Inequality, Sociology
2021 Statistics for Sociological Research, Sociology
2020 Controversies about Inequality, Sociology
2020 Leading Teams, Johnson
External Methodological Training and Certification
2023 Summer Institute in Computational Social Science at the University of Pennsylvania (SICSS-Penn), University of Pennsylvania
2021 Summer Research Institute, Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), Summer Program in Quantitative Research, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
Selected Presentations
“Labor Market Homophily and Health of People with Criminal Records.” The annual meeting of the American Sociological Association. August 2024.
“Decomposing Effects of Social Capital on Occupational Mobility: A Network Approach.” 10th International Conference on Computational Social Science (IC2S2). July 2024
“Geographic Proximity in the Start-up Economy: Venture Capital Investments from 1980-2022”, Annual Meeting of Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE). June 2024.
“The Spatial Constriction and Sprawl of Venture Capital Investment from 1980-2022.” International School and Conference on Network Science (NetSci). June 2024.
“Who Switches Jobs and Gets Ahead? The Role of Social Capital in Occupational Mobility via a Network Approach.” The annual meeting of the Population Association of America (PAA). April 2024
“Network Resources, Dynamics, and Functional Health in Later Life.” Research Committee 28 Conference on Social Stratification (RC28). August 2023.
“Network Resources, Dynamics, and Health in Later Life.” International Network for Social Network Analysis Conference (Sunbelt). June 2023.
Young, Cristobal, Barum Park, Nan Feng, and Benjamin Cornwell. “Inequality in Social Capital: Evidence from Many Independent Data Sets.” Future of the Social Sciences Conference. February 2023.
“Racial Differences in the Effects of Aging on Social Networks in Later Life.” International Network for Social Network Analysis Conference (Sunbelt). July 2022.
“Social Disadvantage, Context and Network Dynamics in Later Life.” The annual meeting of the Population Association of America (PAA). April 2022.
“Jail Time and Network Stability in Later Life.” The annual meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA). August 2021.