History, histories and book trade networks: An exploratory agent-based model

This chapter2 presents a relatively novel approach to theory building, namely Agent-Based Modelling (hereafter ABM), a kind of computer simulation, in the context of social network evolution. Its goal is to start a dialogue on the potential of this approach for historical studies. Agent-Based Models produce histories (small h) that are temporal sequences of changing patterns, for example evolving social networks or spatial distributions of booksellers. The question for dialogue is what, if anything, distinguishes this standard use of Agent-Based Models from History (capital H). The chapter explores this by presenting three variant Agent-Based Models with potential historical relevance. These variants consider unique individuals, the invention and spread of social innovations and the creation of persistent social structures. The purpose of this chapter is neither to argue that historical studies have to engage with Agent-Based Models – nor that this is the kind of theorizing that historians ought to be doing – but to provide a clearer context within which debates about the role of this approach for historians can subsequently take place.