Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Open Access Journal: Journal of Historical Network Research

Journal of Historical Network Research
 e-ISSN: 2535-8863
While interdisciplinary research into the relational paradigm has produced an impressive body of work across the social and political sciences and also, increasingly, among historians, there is as yet no international medium of publication devoted to the study of networks in their historical contexts. This has put scholars with an interest in historical network research—both historians and historical sociologists—at a great disadvantage, and has meant that they have long been accustomed to publishing research papers in non-historical journals. The situation for historians interested in network research is further complicated by academic and cultural idiosyncrasies, since much of the groundbreaking and recent research into historical networks in the English-speaking world has been carried out by historical sociologists, rather than social historians, and has thus remained mostly outside the sphere of traditional academic history departments. This has naturally also influenced the means of publication for research in this area; preferred journals such as Social Networks and the American Journal of Sociology focus heavily on methodological and theoretical aspects. In short, there are no international publications devoted to the study of networks (social and otherwise) from a specifically historical perspective.
This is the gap that the Journal of Historical Network Research is keen to fill. Its aim is to publish outstanding and original contributions which apply the theories and methodologies of social network analysis to historical research, to help advance the epistemological and theoretical understanding of social network analysis in the historical, social and political sciences, and to promote empirical research on historical social interactions. The journal aims to promote the interplay between different areas of historical research (in the broadest sense), social and political sciences, and different research traditions and disciplines, while strengthening the dialogue between network research and “traditional” historical research. The journal will serve as a meeting place for the traditional hermeneutics of historical research and its concomitant emphasis on contextualisation and historical source criticism (as present in traditional academic historical journals) on the one hand, and the theory-heavy and/or sometimes overly technical discussion of methodological and technological issues (which predominates in publications focused on “pure” or sociological network research) on the other. All contents are made available free of charge to readers and authors following Open Access principles.
Wim Broekaert, Elena Köstner, Christian Rollinger (eds.)

During the last decade, the field of ancient history and classics has witnessed a slow but steady increase of publications applying to Greco-Roman history the concepts of social network analysis (SNA). While initially mainly introducing the concept of networks and connectivity in a metaphorical sense, recent research increasingly turned to the more quantitative aspects of network analysis. It is therefore quite remarkable that few attempts have been made to apply the tools of formal network analysis to a research topic ideally suited for this particular approach, viz. Greco-Roman politics. Literary sources, inscriptions and papyri offer a wealth of information on municipal and imperial elites, careers, selection procedures, and most importantly, the ties of family, marriage, friendship, patronage, and bribery that connected them. As the case studies in this special, guest-edited issue of The Journal of Historical Network Research show, SNA promises to offer new perspectives on a research field mainly dominated by more traditional prosopographical studies and at the same time provide a powerful tool for analyzing and visualizing social and political connections in ancient societies.

Published: 2020-05-05

Introducing the 'Ties that Bind'

Wim Broekaert, Elena Köstner, Christian Rollinger
i-xiii

Athens as a Small World

Diane Harris Cline
36-56

Third Issue
Vol 3 (2019)

Second Issue
Vol 2 (2018)

Inaugural Issue
Vol 1 (2017)

See AWOL's full List of Open Access Journals in Ancient Studies

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