DISSINET Newsletter | Dissident Networks Project (DISSINET)

	6 Mar 2026, 14:43
DISSINET Newsletter

Dear friends and colleagues,

Take a moment to catch up on our recent publications, which include an article on Peter Zwicker's Stettin inquisition and a doctoral dissertation that represents the most comprehensive digital humanities study to date of the Bologna inquisition register. We also invite you to attend two upcoming events that will be of interest to researchers using SNA and digital methods.

Additionally, we are looking for new doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers to join DISSINET, with initial expressions of interest due 16 March. Please share these opportunities with anyone who might be interested.

New publications

How inquisitive was medieval inquisition?

Kaarel Sikk, David Zbíral, and Reima Välimäki have published a new study in Digital Scholarship in the Humanities that examines how Peter Zwicker's inquisition in Stettin (1393–94) utilised information gathered from deponent testimonies over the course of subsequent interrogations. The analysis of network and temporal data offers a fresh perspective on strategic decision-making by inquisitors.

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DISSINET researcher Katia Riccardo completes doctoral dissertation

Katia Riccardo's doctoral dissertation, "A computational analysis of inquisitorial language and relationship networks in the inquisition register of Bologna (1291-1310)", is now available online. It offers the most comprehensive digital humanities study to date of the Bologna inquisition register, one of the richest surviving sources for inquisitorial activity in medieval Italy.

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Recent events

Lecture by Prof. Irene Bueno

On 28 January, we hosted Irene Bueno, Associate Professor of Medieval History at the University of Bologna, who gave a lecture entitled '“The worst of all oriental schismatics”: lists of errors and polemical works against Eastern Christians, 14th-15th century'. Prof. Bueno discussed how theologians, converts, and missionaries variously contributed to the shaping of polemical discourse against Eastern Christians.

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Upcoming events

Mon 9 Mar

Multilayer Network Analysis of Gender-Stratified Inquisitorial Testimonies by Zoltán Brys

DISSINET member Zoltán Brys will give a lecture on "Multilayer Network Analysis of Gender-Stratified Inquisitorial Testimonies" as part of the Historical Network Research (HNR) Community Spring 2026 Series.

Wed 25 Mar

From Archives to Algorithms: Digital Methods for Studying Imperial Commoners of Brazil and West Africa (1640-1822) by Agata Błoch

Agata Błoch from the Polish Academy of Sciences will discuss how algorithms, archival research, and critical digital humanities approaches transform our understanding of everyday people in Brazil and West Africa during the Portuguese Empire.

Apply for funded opportunities with DISSINET | due 16 March

Funded Ph.D. opportunity

M.A. graduates are invited to apply for fully funded Ph.D. studies within our digital humanities project using large‑scale computational methods to study medieval hate speech and anti‑heretical discourse. Send us a preliminary research proposal by 16 March 2026.

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Support in applying for MSCA postdoc

Doctoral graduates are invited to apply for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action postdoctoral fellowship (MSCA-PF) within our digital humanities project to study medieval hate speech and anti‑heretical discourse. Send us a preliminary research proposal by 16 March 2026.

Learn more

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