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Network Analysis in the Humanities
06/05 – 08/05
📍 Tartu
The event will be held in English.
Credits: 2 ECTS
This three-day workshop introduces participants to applications of network theory in the humanities, with a particular focus on linguistics as well as literary and cultural studies. The first day opens with an introductory lecture that provides a conceptual and methodological overview of the field, presenting key concepts, models, and research questions. This is followed by expert presentations demonstrating how network-based approaches can be applied to different types of data and research problems.
Botond Szemes will present on character networks in dramatic texts and their analytical potential. His talk explores whether different dramatic genres, such as comedies and tragedies, are underpinned by distinct community structures, and how differentiated character functions can be identified within these communities. Maciej Eder will introduce methods for analyzing textual similarity using network models. This approach moves beyond traditional stylistic or thematic comparisons, revealing complex, multidimensional relationships between texts and highlighting structures that are not easily captured through pairwise similarity measures. The first day concludes with Matteo Romanello, who will address the analysis of citation networks and their role in mapping scholarly communication. His presentation examines patterns emerging from references within large corpora of academic publications and considers how these patterns can be used to better understand the processes of knowledge production and dissemination in academic contexts.
The second and third days of the workshop are devoted to the development of practical skills. The sessions cover data preparation and discuss what types of data are suitable for network analysis. Participants will also be introduced to the use of the visualization tool Gephi. In addition, the workshop addresses the calculation, interpretation, and application of network metrics, enabling participants to integrate quantitative network analysis into their own research projects.
Participants will also have the opportunity to consult individually with the instructors to discuss their research plans or ongoing work.
It’s possible to gain 2 ECTS for participating at the event (requires additional reading, the reading list will be added shortly).
Participants coming from outside of Tartu will be offered accommodation. Additionally, coffee breaks and the joint dinner are covered by the event organisers. Lunches are not provided.
Programme
Day 1 – Introduction, Possibilities, Examples (Ülikooli 18-139)
10.30–11.00 Welcome. Coffee + getting to know the participants
11.00–12.30 General Introduction to Network Theory and History (Thiago D. Oliveira)
12.30–14.00 Break (lunch on your own)
14.00–14.30 Research presentation (Botond Szemes)
14.30–15.00 Research presentation (Prof. Maciej Eder)
15.00–15.30 Coffee break
15.30–17.00 Keynote presentation (Matteo Romanello)
19.00 Dinner for all lecturers & participants
Day 2- Creating Networks (Jakobi 2-428)
9.30–12.00 Workshop on Data preparation. From where the data comes (SPARQL, TEI XML, Excel, etc.), how to clean and prepare it. What’s behind a network, network types? Hands-on workshop. (Matteo Romanello)
12.00–13.30 Break (lunch on your own)
13.30–15.00 Workshop on Network visualization: Gephi – different setups, possibilities – different prepared datasets (results of the morning session?). Time to play with it. Hands-on workshop. Part I. (Prof. Maciej Eder)
15.00–15.30 Coffee break
15.30–17.00 Workshop, part II (Prof. Maciej Eder)
Day 3 – Calculation and Consultation (Jakobi 2-106)
9.30–12.30 Consultation (students’ ideas, difficulties). (Matteo Romanello, Botond Szemes, Thiago D. Oliveira, Prof. Maciej Eder)
12.30–14.00 Break (lunch on your own)
14.00–15.30 Workshop on using network metrics to describe networks and nodes. Compare networks and find similar nodes across them. Data visualization of network metrics (from networks to graphs). Hands-on workshop, part I. (Botond Szemes)
15.30–16.00 Coffee break
16.00–17.00 Workshop, part II (Botond Szemes)
NB! All spots in the workshop are filled! But you can still join the waiting list.
Register HERE.
The maximum number of participants is 25. Participants will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis, but preference will be given to those who can attend the entire event.
In case of questions, please contact Loone Vilumaa (loone.vilumaa@ut.ee.
Estonian Doctoral School for Humanities and Arts.
