"SOCIAL NETWORK PERSPECTIVES IN ARCHAEOLOGY"

Theme editors: Sarah Evans (sce25@cam.ac.uk) and Kathrin Felder (kaf42@cam.ac.uk)

Abstract:
The concept of the ‘social network’ is becoming an increasingly popular topic of discussion, both in modern society and academic research. Within archaeology, the exploration of past social interactions via relationships present in the material record forms a principal topic. A growing number of studies are explicitly addressing the nature of human interconnectedness; the role of objects in social relationships; and the production and distribution of information, knowledge and meaning. In a turn from network ‘thinking’ to applied network analysis in archaeology current approaches have started to confront the challenges of characterising and understanding archaeological patterns accordingly.

Network approaches are already well-established in Sociology and the Natural Sciences. Archaeological studies are increasingly adopting these approaches. Which specific archaeological questions can be addressed with empirical models developed within other scientific frameworks? Following on from this, we can ask how current theoretical thinking about human interaction can be integrated with such models. Might previous approaches, for instance, have shortcomings with regard to addressing the materiality of social relations, and the spatial and temporal scales of archaeological evidence? How can these scales be categorised and better interrelated with each other in our models? We might also gain further insights by considering how quantitative and computer-aided tools developed within archaeological analysis can be further integrated. Finally, it will be worth exploring how archaeology as a discipline, in its theory and practice, has been affected by modern social network media which have enabled enhanced communication within and between the academic and public domain.

For its April 2014 volume, the Archaeological Review from Cambridge invites contributions on the theme of social network perspectives in archaeology. Related contributions from the Natural and Social Sciences are particularly welcomed. Suggested topics or themes include but are not restricted to:

• The theoretical underpinnings of social networks and human interrelations

• Material culture in social networks

• Multi-scalar approaches to human interaction; spatial/regional and temporal analyses; micro- and macro-levels

• Quantitative methods and computer-aided techniques in approaches to social networks

• The contribution of methodologies developed in the physical and biological sciences

• Applications of network analysis to exemplary archaeological datasets

• The potential and impact of social network media (Facebook, Twitter, academia.edu etc.) on academic networking and the academic-public interface

Please send abstracts of not more than 500 words to Sarah Evans (sce25@cam.ac.uk) and Kathrin Felder (kaf42@cam.ac.uk) by March 15th 2013. The full article should not exceed 4000 words. Deadline for first drafts will be in late May 2013, for publication in April 2014. Style guidelines and notes for contributors can be found at http://www.societies.cam.ac.uk/arc/contribute.html.

Archaeological Review from Cambridge is a journal of archaeology managed and published on a voluntary basis by postgraduate research students at the University of Cambridge. Issues are released twice a year. ARC is a non-profit making organisation. Although primarily rooted in archaeological theory and practice, ARC increasingly accommodates a wide range of perspectives with the aim of establishing a strong, inter-disciplinary journal which will be of interest to those engaged in a range of fields, and therefore breaking down some of the boundaries that exist between disciplines. http://www.cam.ac.uk/societies/arc