IMC 2023: Sessions

As part of the ongoing digital turn in the humanities, network analysis is finding its way into medieval studies. Network approaches have shown some of their potential already, but their use in historical research has often succumbed to three major challenges. The first one is a rudimentary application of network analysis as merely a prosopographic visualisation tool rather than a method to test hypotheses about human behaviour. The second challenge is the unproductive separation of network analysis from a broader quantitative and hypothesis-testing approach to research. The third challenge is to find ways of implementing a genuine 'source criticism 2.0' in the heart of the collection and analysis of structured relational data. Drawing on examples from the Dissident Networks Project as well as various other projects and publications, this lecture addresses all three challenges and identifies in each of them an opportunity for raising the bar in upcoming research, thus maximising the potential of both the methodology and data from premodern sources.

Please note that admission to this event will be on a first-come, first-served basis as there will be no tickets. Please ensure that you arrive as early as possible to avoid disappointment.