2026 Conference Focus: Networks and their Sources

The 2026 edition of the conference will focus on the theme Sources, exploring their role in historical network research.

Since the so-called network turn, formal network research has transformed scholarship across the sciences and humanities. Applied to history, it has expanded research methods, encouraged interdisciplinary dialogue, and opened new perspectives on both past and present. Yet historical sources remain challenging: they are often fragmented, incomplete, shaped by bias, or considered inadequate for network analysis.

This conference invites participants to reflect on how sources — whether people, books, ideas, organizations, archaeological remains, archival documents, artworks, or other forms of evidence — make network research possible and meaningful. We aim to foster debate on the opportunities and limits that sources present, while encouraging innovative methodologies and cross-disciplinary perspectives. We encourage submission of all kind of papers regarding historical networks research, and we particularly welcome papers addressing: the identification, retrieval, and use of sources;

• challenges of abstraction in network analysis and possible solutions;
• case studies demonstrating the heuristic value of network methodologies;
• theoretical and empirical reflections on how network thinking reshapes sources;
• data extraction, modeling, and visualization from historical sources (including experimental treatment of sources with so-called AI (LLM, NLP));

We especially encourage interdisciplinary approaches and contributions that combine methodological reflection with empirical research.

The HNR conference continues to be open to all subjects involving network analysis in historical disciplines

Topics of Study

HNR 2026 welcomes contributions discussing any historical period and geographical area. Authors may be historians, linguists, librarians, archaeologists, art historians, computer scientists, mathematicians, physicists, social scientists, as well as scholars from other disciplines working with historical data. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Applications of network analysis to history, art history, ancient history, intellectual history, economic history, social history, media history, political history, history of religions, biography, public history, micro-history, postcolonial history, global history, archaeology, literary history, cultural history.
• Analysis of specific network types, such as geospatial networks, temporal and dynamic networks, two-mode (bipartite) networks, multi-layer networks, multiplex networks.
• Methodological contributions concerning the applicability of network analysis to history, including, for example, modeling, ontologies, linked data, the use of graph metrics, visual network analysis.
• Pedagogical contributions, presenting teaching scenarios, literacy questions, software or feature presentations, interfaces.

Formats

Long Papers

Long papers consist of a 20-minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of discussion, and are intended to present comprehensive research. An abstract of 300 words is required (not including bibliography), including at least 3 citations. It should contain a description of the paper’s subject and research questions, an overview of the data used and methods employed, a discussion of the research results and possibly the wider implication for network analysis in history.

Short Papers

Short papers consist of a 10-minute presentation followed by 5 minutes of discussion, and are intended to present research in progress. An abstract of 300 words is required (not including bibliography), including at least 3 citations. It should contain a brief description of the subject and the research questions, an overview of the data used and the methods employed, a discussion of any results or questions still open at this stage.

Submission Guidelines

Submission

Abstracts must be submitted via this conference management platform by December 1, 2025.

The author (or corresponding author in the case of multi-authored papers) must create an account on the platform and then fill in the form. The abstract must be submitted in the platform in plain text and must be written in English.

Citations should use the Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition Author Date style (author-date in the text, then full reference at the end).

Including an image in the abstract is encouraged to allow a general discussion of our network visualization practices. If, for any reason, the submitted version does not contain any, authors of accepted papers will be invited to add an image and caption at a later stage. Abstracts and images will then be published on the conference website ahead of the event and archived in a book of abstracts on Nakala.

If you are requesting an accomodation bursary (see below) you must include a two-page (maximum) vita in PDF format.  Request for consideration for accommodation bursary must be made in the the comment section of the submission. Accommodation bursary requests are not a factor in acceptance/rejection of a paper – they are evaluated as a second step after paper selections have been made.

Authors’ presence at the conference

Although it is possible to follow the conference via streaming, it is nevertheless an on-site event. By submitting a paper, authors are aware that at least one person must be in Turin to present it.

HNR2026 Bursaries

The HNR2026 organizing committee has obtained funding for conference accomodation for up to three accepted papers by graduate students and post-doctoral/early career researchers. This accommodation with be at University of Turin residence for the nights of July 19, 20, 21, 22. For those wishing to apply for this bursary, please indicate so in your application. Your abstract must be accompanied by an two-page (maximum) vita.

February 1, 2026: notification of acceptance/rejection

March 1, 2026: registration opening

July 20-22, 2026: conference