SOC 3601: Lecture 9 ANT (and the sociology of contemporary biotechnology)
-
Upload
macie-riddel -
Category
Documents
-
view
215 -
download
1
Transcript of SOC 3601: Lecture 9 ANT (and the sociology of contemporary biotechnology)
What do we already know about ANT?
• Based on the work of Bruno Latour, Michel Callon and John Law
• Callon (1987) provides some definitions...
➡“Actor-networks = heterogeneous associations of unstable elements, which influence and re-define each other continuously”
➡“Actor-Network Theory = new description of the dynamics of society”
• Involves the study of both, human, and non-human, competences (i.e. how these are distributed):
➡ “Where others see human relations (society) + non human relations (technology), Latour sees only actors exchanging their properties”
➡ “Society = a collective of humans and non-humans”
• Key terms:
➡ delegation, translation, inscription, programmes of action, collectives, ...
What do we already know about ANT?
• What happens in practice:
➡ Callon, M. (1986)
➡ Latour, B. & Woolgar, S. (1979)
• Some new terms:
➡ actant, generalised symmetry, ...
• Exploring ANT in the laboratory:
➡ Collins, H. & Kusch, M. (1998)
• A diversion ... The “Science Wars”
What are we going to learn about ANT?
• Based on the application of 3 key princples
• Identifies 4 (more or less overlapping)moments in the process of translation
➡ problematisation
➡ interessement
➡ enrolment
➡ mobilisation
• advantages v. disadvantages
• N.B. vocabulary of translation
Callon (1986):The Sociology of Translation
• Based on laboratory ethnography which predates the term “Actor-Network Theory”
• Establishes the foundations of parts of ANT:
➡ no a priori distinction between social and technical
➡ highlights the mobilisation of objects and processes in the social construction of TRF
➡ incorporates the concept of embodiment
➡ erasure of history as the precursor to “black boxing”
• A seminal study in STS
Latour & Woolgar (1979): Laboratory Ethnography
• What is “generalised symmetry”?
➡ Derived from Bloor’s (1976) symmetry principle, but a critical reaction to its application
➡ Callon (1986): “the commitment to explaining conflicting viewpoints in the same terms” (1986: 196)
• What does it mean to apply this in practice?
➡ From ANT’s perspective
➡ From a critical perspective
• Why is it so problematic?
A New Vocabulary:Applying the principle of “generalised
symmetry”
• Collins & Kusch (1998): Action Morphicity
➡ Concerns the difference between the types of actions that humans and machines can do
➡ Turns on the observation that machines can never be socialised, therefore they can never carry out actions that refer to social context
• These issues can be investigated empirically:
➡ Latour (1993) “The Sociology of a Door-opener”
• My research: Can actions that humans carry out with reference to social context be replicated by machines? (i.e. can laboratory processes be automated sucessfully?)
Responses to this problem:In theory ... and in practice
• My research:
➡ Can actions that humans carry out with reference to social context be replicated by machines?
➡ i.e. can laboratory processes be automated sucessfully?
• Laboratory observation which focusses on the differences between actions which can be:
➡ A) carried out by humans, and
➡ B) replicated by machines
Responses to this problem:In theory ... and in practice
A Diversion:The “Science Wars”
• The when and how ANT can be used
• “Generalised Symmetry”
➡ What it is
➡ The advantages of this approach
➡ The problems and debates it sparks
• How generalised symmetry can be explored in practice
• Aside: Lessons from the “Science Wars”
In Summary:
• Callon, M. (1987). "Society in the Making: The Study of Technology as a Tool for Sociological Analysis", In Bijker et al. (eds) The Social Construction of Technical Systems: New Directions in the Sociology and History of Technology, London: MIT Press. pp. 83-103.
• Callon, M. (1986). "Some Elements of a Sociology of Translation: Domestication of the Scallops and the Fishermen of St Brieuc Bay", In Law, J. (ed). Power, Action and Belief: A New Sociology of Knowledge, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 196-233
• Latour, B. and Woolgar, S. (1979). Laboratory Life: the Social Construction of Scientific Facts, Los Angeles, USA: Sage.
• Collins, H. M. and Kusch, M. (1998). The Shape of Actions: What Humans and Machines Can Do, Cambridge, MASS.: MIT Press.
References (1)