Social Network Analysis for Historians: Origins, Uses and Challenges

by Dr Natalia Maillard Álvarez (Pablo de Olavide University)

Wednesday 29 Nov 2023, 15:00 → 17:00 Europe/Berlin

aula Targetti (hybrid format: online and in Trento) (University of Trento, Palazzo Paolo Prodi)

In this away session of the seminar series ‘Legal History meets Digital Humanities’, that will take place at the University of Trento (and online), we will discuss the use of social network analysis for historical research with Dr. Natalia Maillard Álvarez, who is  lecturer in Early Modern History at the Department of Geography, History and Philosophy of the University Pablo de Olavide (Seville, Spain). In her research,  Álvarez focuses on book trade and book circulation during the Early Modern period.

The away session of the seminar is organised as a part of a joint event between Max Planck Partner Group ‘The Production of Knowledge of Normativity and the Early Modern Book Trade’ and the permanent seminar ‘Legal History meets Digital Humanities’ the international workshop ‘From the Age of the Printing Press to the Digital Age: How Knowledge of Normativity is Produced in Books’ (28-29 November 2023).  

Abstract: Networks are in vogue among historians, to the point that some speak of a network turn. Most historians use the concept of “network” as a metaphor to better understand reality. Nevertheless, in recent years, the application of Social Network Analysis to historical studies has been growing steadily. This poses a series of challenges to historians, both from a conceptual and methodological point of view. 

In my talk, first, I will explain the theoretical basis of the network turn in History and the differences between a metaphorical approach to networks and the use of social network analysis. Second, I will detail the core elements of social network analysis and its application to historical research. 

Art_Vínculos en.pdf

Art_Vínculos.pdf