[Convener's overview] Informal relations in early modern and modern society: kinship, friendship, patronage, social newtorks

Since the early twentieth century, histories of kinship, friendship, patronage and social networks have become the subject matter of significant bodies of historical research. The paper persents the field and explores key thematic and methodological questions. Taking a broad chronological and international perspective, it examines comparatively the formation, activation, and fragmentation of social networks and discusses new substantive contributions. The paper emphasizes the importance of common research idioms and international diaglouges.