ANT: Bruno Latour, Michel Callon, & John Law

Modernity to Postmodernity: Contemporary Social Theory (Week 8)

Dr Dr Craig Hammond – University Centre Blackburn College (Creative Commons Licence: BY-NC-SA 3.0)

Principles of Actor Network Theory

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Principles of Actor Network Theory• It is a good idea not to take it for granted that

there is a macrosocial system on the one hand, and bits and pieces of derivative microsocial detail on the other.

• Instead we should start with a clean slate. For instance, we might start with interaction and assume that interaction is all that there is.

• Then we might ask how some kinds of interactions more or less succeed in stabilising and reproducing themselves: … to generate the effects such as power, fame, size, scope or organisation

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ANT & Technology

• For Latour, technology is now integral to our understanding of human society; to the extent that human ‘nature’ is fundamentally dependent upon technology.

• We have developed and shaped technology; but now, technology is shaping us.

• Technology now shapes, controls and influences our ‘nature’

• We are now all part of a technologically inter-connected, heterogeneous and complex system.

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ANT & Technology

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ANT & Technology

• ANT sets out to describe a complex society of humans and, importantly non-humans, as equal actors tied together into networks (established to achieve particular aims or goals).

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ANT: Vocabulary & Principles

• Actors: are "entities that do things"; this is very different to a more conventional sociological definition of actors as "social entities"

• Importantly for ANT, there is no distinction to be made between humans and non-humans, embodied or disembodied skills, impersonation or 'machination'.

• A further sub-division within this concept: an actor is an actant endowed with a character

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ANT: Actor / Actant

• EXAMPLE: A coin-shaped piece of metal can be understood as an actant; once the actant (or potential actor) is appropriately inscribed and placed into an active ‘exchange’ process, it then becomes an actor

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ANT: Network

• Besides ‘actor’, network is the second central concept associated with the theory.

• The term network can be understood as a: "group of unspecified relationships among entities of which the nature itself is undetermined." (Callon, 1993, p.263).

• Networks consist of people and ‘things’.

•  ANT suggests that from within the system of networks, Black Boxes can be identified.

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ANT: Black Box

• Black box is a metaphor that is able to contain (or represent) a complex category (or label)

• A set of complex commands/actions that can be substituted by a ‘box’, because it is generally regular and stable in its functions (Wiener, 1948).

• Using the ‘finance’ connection (as above) – the term, ‘the economy’ can be understood as a black box:

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ANT: Black Box

• We can all relate to (or have our own conception of) ‘our’ economy [the UK economy].

• Yet, if we start to try to think about ways in which the economy works (its complexity of systems, sub-systems and networks) – it ceases to be a clear, distinct and separate social element.

• Examples?

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ANT: Intermediaries

• Intermediaries are the language of the network.• Through intermediaries actors communicate with

one another and that is the way actors translate their intentions into other actors

• Heterogeneous & dynamic networks

• Advantages & limitations of ANT?

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ANT: Assumptions

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ANT: Limitations & critique• “There are four things that do not

work with actor-network theory; the word actor, the word network, the word theory and the hyphen! Four nails in the coffin.”

• See the linkhttp://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/sociology/research/publications/papers/latour-recalling-ant.pdf

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