scholarly journals Recovering critique in an age of datafication

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 1135-1151
Author(s):  
Nick Couldry
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Social World ◽  
The Social ◽  
Key Questions

This article starts out from the need for critical work on processes of datafication and their consequences for the constitution of social knowledge and the social world. Current social science work on datafication has been greatly shaped by the theoretical approach of Bruno Latour, as reflected in the work of Actor Network Theory and Science and Technology Studies (ANT/STS). The article asks whether this approach, given its philosophical underpinnings, provides sufficient resources for the critical work that is required in relation to datafication. Drawing on Latour’s own reflections about the flatness of the social, it concludes that it does not, since key questions, in particular about the nature of social order cannot be asked or answered within ANT. In the article’s final section, three approaches from earlier social theory are considered as possible supplements to ANT/STS for a social science serious about addressing the challenges that datafication poses for society.

« Cela nous a échappé… » : théorie de l’acteur-réseau et le problème des générations scientifiques

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Dubois
Keyword(s):  
Social Theory ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
General Terms ◽  
The Social ◽  
Two Generations ◽  
Intellectual Product ◽  
Looking Back ◽  
Social Construction Of Science

The present article reviews in detail the generational fate of Actor-Network Theory (AnT). This theory is one of the rare examples of an intellectual product that has managed to transpose into the very general terms of contemporary social theory findings initially elaborated in what is often seen as the confidential field of science and technology studies. Building in particular on MJ Nye’s work on the origins of the social construction of science in order to establish a generational approach to the study of the sciences, the article distinguishes two generations of AnT and highlights the asymmetric character of the intergenerational link between them. In looking back on the principal criticisms of AnT since its creation, the article shows how second-generation AnT – the ‘diaspora’ generation, as Law has termed it (1999) – identifies mostly with a degenerative research program (in Lakatos’ sense, 1978), built around four main types of effect: effects of repetition, of dramatization, of routinization and, finally, of invisibilization of the critical debate.

Actor-Network Theory and Autopoiesis

2009 ◽  
pp. 67-79
Author(s):  
Lars Steiner
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Process Analysis ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Knowledge Intensive ◽  
Over Time

A new knowledge management perspective and tool, ANT/AUTOPOIESIS, for analysis of knowledge management in knowledge-intensive organizations is presented. An information technology (IT) research and innovation co-operation between university actors and companies interested in the area of smart home IT applications is used to illustrate analysis using this perspective. Actor-network theory (ANT) and the social theory of autopoiesis are used in analyzing knowledge management, starting from the foundation of a research co-operation. ANT provides the character of relations between actors and actants, how power is translated by actors and the transformation of relations over time. The social theory of autopoiesis provides the tools to analyze organizational closure and reproduction of organizational identity. The perspective used allows a process analysis, and at the same time analysis of structural characteristics of knowledge management. Knowledge management depends on powerful actors, whose power changes over time. Here this power is entrepreneurial and based on relations and actors’ innovation knowledge.

The actor-network theory as a method in the analysis of Samarco disaster in Brazil

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-191
Author(s):  
Camilla Zanon Bussular ◽  
Cecília Gerhardt Burtet ◽  
Cláudia Simone Antonello
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Social World ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
The Social ◽  
Methodological Aspects ◽  
Empirical Demonstration

Purpose The actor-network theory (ANT) has been understood as a method, as a way of engaging in the social world and also transform it. The purpose of this paper is to show the ANT methodological aspects, provide an empirical demonstration of this approach as a method, and promote a debate about the implications and importance of understanding it as a method and not just as a theory. Design/methodology/approach By analyzing the criticisms of ANT seminal concepts and its repercussions, the authors have offered an understanding of its methodological aspects and its implications for the practice of research. An empirical study conducted in Brazil is presented to exemplify the use of ANT as a method. Findings The methodological reflection of this approach starts from the recognition that the methods are part of the social world that they research; they are totally imbued with theoretical representations of this world; they are social because they also help to constitute this social world. As a method, ANT seeks to understand the process of stabilizing practices, negotiations and controversies that are established when such practices are in the process of being. In that sense, following the relational disputes that build a practice before their stabilization is the task to be accomplished for the researcher in the field. Research limitations/implications The paper offers relevant contributions to the understanding of ANT as a method. The authors encourage other researchers to venture into the development of this approach in future studies that further explore its methodological character. Originality/value There are not many studies on ANT as a method. If ANT is also a method, can we apply it to any research? The authors hope to bring this matter to discussion, understanding and questioning the use of this theoretical-methodological approach in the research fields.

Inhuman/Nonhuman/Human: Actor-Network Theory and the Prospects for a Nondualistic and Symmetrical Perspective on Nature and Society

1997 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 731-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Murdoch
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Critical Assessment ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Social Studies Of Science ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Nature And Society

Recently human geographers and sociologists have begun to focus on the prospects for theories without dualisms. As a result of research on technology, animals, and the environment, it has become evident that a human-centred perspective, which continually positions humans as the only significant actors, cannot adequately take into account the various nonhumans which make up our world and upon which we depend. In large part the human-centredness of much social science derives from a sharp divide, a dualism, between nature and society and between the work of natural and human scientists. In this paper I consider one attempt to transgress this divide and assess the prospects for theories of this kind. The focus here is upon actor-network theory (ANT), an approach developed by Michel Callon, Bruno Latour, and John Law within social studies of science. I first outline the social studies which form the background to the development of ANT and then go on to elaborate the main contours of the approach, with particular emphasis on its transgression of the nature—society distinction. I conclude with a critical assessment of its strengths and weaknesses and attempt to show how it might be usefully combined with other, more traditional, social scientific concerns.

scholarly journals Technology, Creativity, and the Social in Algorithmic Music

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Haworth
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Social Negotiation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sociology Of Art ◽  
Algorithmic Music ◽  
Network Music ◽  
Use Of The Internet ◽  
External Forces

This chapter surveys developments in the sociology of art and theories of mediation to examine the contribution of technical devices and institutions to musical creativity. In particular, it considers Actor-Network Theory as a means to analyse the contributions of ‘nonhuman actors’ to the social world of algorithmic music. Two case studies are discussed: the network music pioneers The Hub and the contemporary genre of live coding. The example of The Hub raises the question of technological change and the necessity of considering the external forces that bear on the instrumentarium of algorithmic music as part of its social ecology. The chapter analyses live coding, focusing on the associated actors’ use of the Internet. It then charts the online development of the TOPLAP manifesto to illustrate how the ‘true’ computer music that live coding seeks to articulate is an ongoing social negotiation. The final section uses the Issuecrawler software to analyse networks of association within live coding.

Rethinking democratizing potential of digital technology

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-156
Author(s):  
Luyue Ma
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Technological Determinism ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
The Social

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how the shifting conceptualization of the democratizing potential of digital technology can be more comprehensively understood by bringing in science and technology studies (STS) perspectives to communication scholarship. The synthesis and discussion are aiming at providing an interdisciplinary theoretical framework for comprehensively understand the democratizing potential of digital technology, and urging researchers to be conscious of assumptions underpinning epistemological positions they take when examining the issue of democratizing potential of digital technology. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a constructive literature review that synthesizes and integrates existed literature from communication and STS on the democratizing potential of digital technology. The author attempts to bridge theoretical perspectives from communication and STS by identifying core arguments and debates around key concepts and discussing potential implications of different epistemological positions. Findings Tracing the evolving analytical perspectives of technological determinism, the social construction of technology and actor-network theory, the author argues that researchers should be aware of their underlying epistemological assumptions embedded in relationships among users, technological systems and social factors. Analyzing the contested notion of power in the democratizing potential of digital technology from two contrasting perspectives, the author argues that researchers should recognize both the front end and the back end of digital technology in their analysis. In addition, new challenges of algorithm opacity and accountability in impacting the democratizing potential of digital technology are further discussed. Originality/value This study provides an original interdisciplinary theoretical framework by reviewing and bridging scholarship from communication and STS in examining the democratizing potential of digital technology. Adopting this interdisciplinary theoretical framework helps researchers develop a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the democratizing potential of digital technology.

scholarly journals De yngste barna og tingene deres – en ANT-analyse av lek i småbarnsavdelinger

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dag Øystein Nome
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Peer Groups ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Group Activities ◽  
The Social ◽  
And Function

Artikkelen presenterer en mikro-etnografisk undersøkelse av barns forhold til tingene i to småbarnsavdelinger i norske barnehager. Hensikten er å forstå hvordan barns relasjoner til ting virker inn på deres mulighet til deltagelse og sosial posisjonering i gruppen. Undersøkelsen er basert på Aktør-Nettverk-Teori som vektlegger tingenes betydning som agens i sosiale nettverk og tingenes funksjon som forlengelse av barnas kropper. Undersøkelsen viser at tingene har betydning som legitim inngangsbillett til deltagelse i lekegrupper og at tingenes innbyrdes hierarkiske orden bidrar i å uttrykke den sosiale orden mellom barna som inngår i relasjon med dem. The article presents a micro-ethnographic study on toddlers’ relationship to the material artefacts in two Norwegian kindergarten groups. The purpose of the study is to understand how their relationship with objects influences their possibilities for participation in peer groups. The study is based on Actor-Network-Theory. A main point is that material artefacts have agency in social networks surrounding us and function as extensions of our bodies. The study indicates that material artefacts serve as entrance tickets for participation in group activities and that the hierarchic order between the objects in the room, influences the social order among the children using them.  

scholarly journals The concept of flow interactions in the sociological everyday-life studies

2016 ◽  
pp. 28-30
Author(s):  
A. Nedzelskyi
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Flow Structures ◽  
The Social ◽  
Flow Interactions ◽  
Definition Of

The article is devoted to analysis of the ways of using the "flow interaction" concept in sociological everyday-life studies and to development a definition of the concept. In particular for achievement the theoretical research aim, the author applies a set of fundamental sociological theories such as: the social practices theory, J. Alexander's cultural sociology, B. Latour's actor-network theory which have significant heuristic value for everyday-life sociology. The article argues that in modern society spread practices of temporal daily life structures development. Upgrading the theories of social order constitution on a basis of concepts of network and flow structures allows to develop the sociological knowledge about every-day life and routine practices.

Latour and the Passage of Law

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Philosophical Anthropology ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Core Element ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Vision ◽  
Analytical Tools ◽  
Modes Of Existence

Thirteen essays exploring Bruno Latour's legal theory from a variety of disciplinary perspectives – including a chapter by Bruno Latour responding to the arguments and critiques offered in each chapter. This book develops an exciting new vision for legal theory combining analytical tools drawn from Latour's actor-network theory developed in works like Science in Action, Reassembling the Social and The Making of Law with the philosophical anthropology of the Moderns in An Inquiry into Modes of Existence to blaze an entirely new trail in legal epistemology. Bruno Latour's writings in science and technology studies, anthropology, sociology and philosophy are well-known, but only rarely has his work in law been appreciated as a core element, and still less as an obligatory passage point for students and scholars of law. This collection demonstrates the urgency with which both of those omissions must be reconsidered.

scholarly journals Metaorder of categories vs/and metacategories of order

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Conceptual Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Study ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
High Potential ◽  
Important Distinction ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sociological Discourse

The article is devoted to the theoretical study of theory as an order of production of this theory at the categorical level. Based on historical and sociological material and conceptual analysis, the author explores the logic of the development of sociology as a science using the metacategory of order as an example. The author analyzes a number of views prevailing in sociology on issues of abstraction and specificity, empiricism and theory, generalizations and refinements, universalist conceptualism and particular applicability. It is emphasized that the abstraction, selection and construction of metacategories is the main way not only in the “normal sciences” (according to T. Kuhn), but also in the sciences that can oppose themselves to them, including in various sociology projects. As an example of metalanguages the development of N. Luhmann’s theory and actor-network theory are studied. The ways of introducing metacategories into sociology, their abstraction and approval are investigated. Three key sources of metacategories for sociology are identified (selfmovement of sociology, borrowing from philosophy, extraction from other sciences). An important distinction between metacategories, categories and official words in sociological theorizing is introduced. Separate emphasis is placed on the analysis of how metacategories are practiced in sociological discourse. The author’s hypotheses and preliminary conclusions are verified on the basis of material metacategories of the social order in the interpretation of a number of leading theoretical sociologists. For verification, P.A. Sorokin, T. Parsons, P. Bourdieu and E. Goffmann theories were used. The conclusion about the epistemological significance of metacategories for sociology and about their role in the scientific order of the organization of knowledge is drawn. In particular, the author proves that the study of the metacategory of order allows to reveal the metaorder of categories in theoretical sociology. Order as one of the most abstract, least “colored” and methodologically biased metacategories in this sense has a high potential for explicating the logic of the development of sociology.

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