Today, literally any political, economic or aesthetic phenomenon will seem incomprehensible if not viewed through the lens of 'social networks'. Sociology, historiography and art history are well equipped for this conundrum: These disciplines can rely on an adequate and long-standing foundation of network theory. This, however, is not the case for literary and cultural studies. Here, networks and network research are still rare and under-theorized. The present volume aims to help close this gap. Networks and worknets (Bruno Latour) take us beyond the traditional, 'strong' concepts of subjectivity that prevail even in postcolonial studies: i.e. beyond an emphasis on individual experience, struggle and emancipation. Consisting of multiple and disperse "affinités déspatialisées" (Boltanski/Chiapello), networks also leave the 'spatial turn' and its massive reliance on physical extension behind. This volume offers an introduction to network research from a Romance Studies perspective. It features a series of international contributions on artistic and social networks in the Americas, the Caribbean and Europe. By focusing on the historical period between the Mexican Revolution and the fall of the Berlin Wall, this volume highlights an epoch that - through a digitally networked public sphere - is regaining its relevance today.