Interpersonal networks and the archaeology of social structures; using social positioning events to understand social strategies and individual behaviour
This paper is based on two community reconstitution studies (Soure and Lousã) in early modern Portugal during the 17th and 18th centuries that demonstrate the value of analyzing networks of relationships, especially the "apadrinhamento" (selecton of godparents), in understanding social st...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Portuguese |
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Coimbra University Press
2007-11-01
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| Series: | Revista de História da Sociedade e da Cultura |
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| Online Access: | https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/rhsc/article/view/15341 |
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| _version_ | 1841543273869475840 |
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| author | Joaquim Carvalho Rosário Campos |
| author_facet | Joaquim Carvalho Rosário Campos |
| author_sort | Joaquim Carvalho |
| collection | DOAJ |
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This paper is based on two community reconstitution studies (Soure and Lousã) in early modern Portugal during the 17th and 18th centuries that demonstrate the value of analyzing networks of relationships, especially the "apadrinhamento" (selecton of godparents), in understanding social structures and the individual strategies that they encompass.
A central aspect of the methodology used is the concept of "event of relative social positioning": an action, traceable in the sources, by which an actor makes explicit his perception of his own social position relative to another actor. The relationship of "apadrinhamento", in which someone asks another person to be the godfather or godmother of a child, is the main source of social positioning events used in our research. It will be demonstrated that people never invite someone they consider their social inferior to be a godmother or godfather to their child.
This simple principle produces surprising results when a global reconstruction is made at the community level, and the relative social position of a large number of frequently interacting individuals is obtained. The resulting network has interesting formal characteristics suggesting self-organization and high connectivity, and constitutes an example of what modern network theory calls "small worlds".
The reconstructed web of relationships allows us to put information from different sources into context, providing surprising insights into social mechanisms which are otherwise invisible. Specific case studies will be shown to illustrate the explanatory power of this approach, with a focus on socially determined patterns of moral behavior in the parish of Soure, and the impact of an early manufacturing installation on the traditional community of Lousã.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8749d80e4b974319b4305405f4ed1ef0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1645-2259 2183-8615 |
| language | Portuguese |
| publishDate | 2007-11-01 |
| publisher | Coimbra University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revista de História da Sociedade e da Cultura |
| spelling | doaj-art-8749d80e4b974319b4305405f4ed1ef02025-01-13T15:10:56ZporCoimbra University PressRevista de História da Sociedade e da Cultura1645-22592183-86152007-11-01710.14195/1645-2259_7_6Interpersonal networks and the archaeology of social structures; using social positioning events to understand social strategies and individual behaviourJoaquim Carvalho0Rosário Campos1Universidade de CoimbraEscola Superior de Educação de Coimbra This paper is based on two community reconstitution studies (Soure and Lousã) in early modern Portugal during the 17th and 18th centuries that demonstrate the value of analyzing networks of relationships, especially the "apadrinhamento" (selecton of godparents), in understanding social structures and the individual strategies that they encompass. A central aspect of the methodology used is the concept of "event of relative social positioning": an action, traceable in the sources, by which an actor makes explicit his perception of his own social position relative to another actor. The relationship of "apadrinhamento", in which someone asks another person to be the godfather or godmother of a child, is the main source of social positioning events used in our research. It will be demonstrated that people never invite someone they consider their social inferior to be a godmother or godfather to their child. This simple principle produces surprising results when a global reconstruction is made at the community level, and the relative social position of a large number of frequently interacting individuals is obtained. The resulting network has interesting formal characteristics suggesting self-organization and high connectivity, and constitutes an example of what modern network theory calls "small worlds". The reconstructed web of relationships allows us to put information from different sources into context, providing surprising insights into social mechanisms which are otherwise invisible. Specific case studies will be shown to illustrate the explanatory power of this approach, with a focus on socially determined patterns of moral behavior in the parish of Soure, and the impact of an early manufacturing installation on the traditional community of Lousã. https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/rhsc/article/view/15341spiritual kinnetwork analysislocal history |
| spellingShingle | Joaquim Carvalho Rosário Campos Interpersonal networks and the archaeology of social structures; using social positioning events to understand social strategies and individual behaviour Revista de História da Sociedade e da Cultura spiritual kin network analysis local history |
| title | Interpersonal networks and the archaeology of social structures; using social positioning events to understand social strategies and individual behaviour |
| title_full | Interpersonal networks and the archaeology of social structures; using social positioning events to understand social strategies and individual behaviour |
| title_fullStr | Interpersonal networks and the archaeology of social structures; using social positioning events to understand social strategies and individual behaviour |
| title_full_unstemmed | Interpersonal networks and the archaeology of social structures; using social positioning events to understand social strategies and individual behaviour |
| title_short | Interpersonal networks and the archaeology of social structures; using social positioning events to understand social strategies and individual behaviour |
| title_sort | interpersonal networks and the archaeology of social structures using social positioning events to understand social strategies and individual behaviour |
| topic | spiritual kin network analysis local history |
| url | https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/rhsc/article/view/15341 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT joaquimcarvalho interpersonalnetworksandthearchaeologyofsocialstructuresusingsocialpositioningeventstounderstandsocialstrategiesandindividualbehaviour AT rosariocampos interpersonalnetworksandthearchaeologyofsocialstructuresusingsocialpositioningeventstounderstandsocialstrategiesandindividualbehaviour |