You can then ask students to pick a favorite book(does not have to be political) and map the 1 or 2 step ego network around it… most students really get into this.
Then they can compare their book networks amongst themselves and look for overlaps... lots of possibilities and a great “first network."
Reference: Valdis Krebs, « Proxy Networks », Bulletin de méthodologie sociologique [Online], 79 | 2003, URL :
http://bms.revues.org/1289