ABSTRACT

This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book demonstrates just a balance, answering the question of what role the network plays in the development of human endeavors over time and space, and what role society, or even the individual, plays in the development of the network in turn. It presents innovative reflections on the characteristics and applications of networks, particularly their adaptability for considering a number of forms of interaction – social networks, but also material, semantic, and intellectual networks. The book also demonstrates that similar structural effects may be seen in early modern intellectual networks. Individual interactions weave a complex web over time and space, providing long-standing patterns that guide future agents in their decisions. Patronage, kinship, and trade networks provide a ready means of placing an individual within a greater social historical trajectory, and allow us a basis for connective and comparative history on an unprecedented scale.