An introduction to actor network theory bruno latour. An ethnography of the french supreme court in administrative law, the conseil detat, has been pursued between 1994 and 1999. This is a theory that latour developed along with some of his colleagues. Through the example of the hollywood teen film and with a particular focus on actor network theory ant, the book delineates how teen film has established itself as one of hollywoods most consistent and dynamic genres. The reading for march 2016 is an essay by bruno latour titled on actor network theory 1990. Actor network theory an overview sciencedirect topics. French theorist and main architect of actor network theory photo credit. Bruno latour has 86 books on goodreads with 21240 ratings. English translation, 1993, laboratory life with steve woolgar, 1979 and science in action 1987. If you have access to a journal via a society or association membership, please browse to your society journal, select an article to view, and follow the instructions in this box. The notion of network helps us to lift the tyranny of geographers. This book is the account of this field work attempting to make a thick description of the work of judges as they come to an agreement about files.
Bruno latour s contention is that the word social, as used by social scientists, has become laden with assumptions to the point where it has become misnomer. In this book i show why sociology may be construed as the science of associations and. French professor of sociology bruno latour in aramis, ou lamour des techniques 1993, paris utilizes actornetwork theory to present the history of a failed effort to introduce a radically new subway system in paris. Reassembling the social by bruno latour, 9780199256051. Reassembling the social an introduction to actornetwork. Actor network theory the major part of reassembling the social is latour s concept of actor network theory ant. Oct 25, 2007 in short, this book is a fantastic summary of the theoretical aspects of actor network theory and should be an indispensable companion for anyone looking to situate actor network theory in a theoretical context. Bruno latour is among the most important figures in contemporary philosophy and social science.
Simultaneously, while investigating aramiss demise, latour delineates the tenets of actor network theory. This book is one of the first to apply the theoretical tools proposed by french philosopher bruno latour to film studies. This alternative way of practicing sociology has been called actornetworktheory or ant. Learn more about latour s life and career, including his various books. His ethnographic studies have revolutionized our understanding of areas as diverse as science, law, politics and religion. Reassembling the social bruno latour oxford university. He curated the zkm exhibits iconoclash and making things public and coedited the accompanying catalogs, both published by the mit press. Having been trained as a philosopher, then an anthropologist, bruno latour specialized in the analysis of scientists and engineers at work, and published works on philosophy, history, sociology, and the anthropology of science. P67 on actor network theory 5 there is no such a thing as a proximity or a distance which would not be defined by connectibility.
It looks at the natural and social worlds and how they are composed of constantly shifting relationship networks. It is not a theory of the social, but a theory of how to study the social, set apart by this specific definition of its object. Drawing on his extensive work examining the assemblages of nature, latour finds it necessary to scrutinize thoroughly the exact content of what is assembled under the umbrella of society. An introduction to actor network theory show all authors. Reassembling the social is a fundamental challenge from one of the worlds leading social theorists to how we understand society and the social. An introduction to actornetworktheory by bruno latour online at alibris. Essays on the reality of science studies and bruno latour 2004, politics of. Learn more about latours life and career, including his various books. French professor of sociology bruno latour in aramis, ou lamour des techniques 1993, paris utilizes actor network theory to present the history of a failed effort to introduce a radically new subway system in paris.
There are many theories that seek to clarify the relationship between our offline existence and whatever it is we are doing online. When the adjective is applied to a phenomenon, it is used to indicate a stablilized state. The argument of this book can be stated very simply. Bruno latour is unequivocally one of the most influential theorist of our age. Reassembling the social, by bruno latour eric nehrlich.
Bruno latours most popular book is we have never been modern. An introduction to actornetwork theory, our modern cult of the factish gods, an inquiry into modes of existence, and many other books. And 260 pages later, im still not sure i can sum it up. Bruno latour s contention is that the word social, as used by social scientists, has become laden with assumptions to the point where it has. Latour, moreover, saw a certain translation process as constitutive of modernity. It posits that nothing exists outside those relationships. However, this theory has often been misunderstood and hence much abused. Based on the powerful insights into normative effects that actor network theory makes possible, the book advances a new theory of legal normativity and the force of law, rethinking latour s work on technology, the image, and referential scientific inscriptions, among others, and placing them within the ambit of legality. Books by bruno latour author of we have never been modern. Reassembling the social bruno latour oxford university press. All the factors involved in a social situation are on the same level. Reassembling the social an introduction to actornetworktheory. Born in 1947 in beaune, burgundy, from a wine grower family, he was trained first as a philosopher and then as an anthropologist. Actor network theory, about which this book attempts to give some introductory arguments, traumatically manifests a new approach to sociology that has the capacity to sublate conventional insights.
An introduction to actornetworktheory clarendon lectures in management studies kindle edition by latour, bruno. Latour is closely associated with the school of thought known as actornetworktheory. The outcome of successful negotiations is an actor network characterized by aligned interests. Bruno latour, french sociologist and anthropologist known for his innovative and iconoclastic work in the study of science and technology in society. Alas, the historical name is actornetworktheory, a name. Everyone seems to know with what sort of forces and in which sort of materials the social world is made.
Actornetwork theory ant is a theoretical and methodological approach to social theory. An introduction to actornetworktheory clarendon lectures in management studies 86014058619. The socalled actor network theory ant and science and technology studies sts have similarly asserted the creativity of translation. An introduction to actornetworktheory by bruno latour taylor. Actornetwork theory, about which this book attempts to give some. Aramis was supposed to be implemented as a personal rapid transit prt system in paris. Ant is a conceptual frame for exploring collective sociotechnical processes, whose spokespersons have paid particular attention to. This approach, a sociology of associations has become known as actor network theory, and this book is an essential introduction both for those seeking to understand actor network theory, or the ideas of one of its most influential proponents. Bruno latours contention is that the word social as used by social scientists has become laden with. Latour and other sts scholars claimed that the productivity of translation is the very condition for knowledge. Having explained his intentions in the introduction, latour demonstrates in part i how to deploy controversies about the social world. The book is a quasimystery, which attempts to discover who killed aramis personal rapid transit.
Powell the logic of position, the measure of leadership position and information in the market forthcoming joel podolny global companies in the 20th century forthcoming leslie hannah. So latour wrote this book to be the definitive explanation of actor network theory. An introduction to actornetworktheory bruno latour 3. Access to society journal content varies across our titles. Seems like a must read at this point for anyone wanting to know what ant is about, and generally important for anyone thinking or writing about how we understand and write about the interactions and connections that make up life. Actor network theory actor network theory ant, also known as enrolment theory or the sociology of translation, emerged during the mid1980s, primarily with the work of bruno latour, michel callon, and john law. I have always been struck, on the contrary, by the huge gap between the vast variety of attachments with which people elaborate their different worlds and the limited repertoire we possess in social science to account for them. Reassembling the social an introduction to actor network theory bruno latour science, innovation, and economic growth forthcoming walter w. Bruno latour spoke about this particular task of objects in his work. This approach, a sociology of associations, has become known as actor network theory, and this book is an essential introduction both for those seeking to. An actor network creates and sustains a complex technological artifact such as an electric automobile. In a lecture delivered in 1997 bruno latour identified the things that do not work with actornetwork theory. Actornetwork theory is a framework and systematic way to consider the infrastructure surrounding technological achievements.
This approach, a sociology of associations, has become known as actor network theory, and this book is an essential introduction both for those seeking to understand actor network theory, or the ideas of one of its most influential proponents. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Although it has been widely used, it has also been largely misunderstood. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The 1984 book coauthored by john law and fellowsociologist peter lodge. Otherwise, they are drawn from latour s reassembling the social and science in. Actor network theory, about which this book attempts to give some introductory. Bruno latour is a world famous and widely published french sociologist who has written with great eloquence and perception about the relationship between people, science, and technology.
This is a well written book, replete with the verve and elan one would associate with bruno latour. Credit for many of these definitions should be given to g. Actor network theory ant is a guide to the process of answering this question. Based on the powerful insights into normative effects that actornetwork theory makes possible, the book advances a new theory of legal normativity and the force of law, rethinking latours work on technology, the image, and referential scientific inscriptions, among others, and placing them within the ambit of legality. A brief summary of actor network theory cyborgology. Reassembling the social an introduction to actor network theory bruno latour clarendon lectures in management studies. An introduction to actor network theory bruno latour science, innovation, and economic growth forthcoming walter w. Although his studies of scientific practice were at one time associated with social constructionist 9 approaches to the philosophy of science, latour has diverged significantly from such approaches. To facilitate a more realistic understanding of the world, latour has introduced a radically fresh philosophical terminology and a new approach to social science, actor. Actor network theory ant is a theoretical and methodological approach to social theory where everything in the social and natural worlds exists in constantly shifting networks of relationships. The degree of alignment is the degree of convergence of an actor network. Bruno latour reassembling the social is a fundamental challenge from one of the worlds leading social theorists to how we understand society and the social. A few clarifications plus more than a few complications.
Latour is best known for his books we have never been modern 1991. The geographical notion is simply another connection to a grid defining a metrics and a scale. An introduction to actornetworktheory clarendon lectures in management studies new ed by latour, bruno isbn. Having been trained as a philosopher, then an anthropologist, bruno latour specialized in the analysis of scientists and engineers at work, and published works on philosophy, history, sociology. Exploring the properties of actornetworks is the task that the paris group of science and technology studies has set itself to tackle since the beginning of the 1980s callon lawrip 1986. The actor network theory, developed in part by bruno latour, is a social theory. Jul 04, 2006 so latour wrote this book to be the definitive explanation of actornetwork theory. Sep 06, 2007 reassembling the social is a fundamental challenge from one of the worlds leading social theorists to how we understand society and the social. Actornetwork theory is a way to understand the phenomena as distributed networks with interrelated nodes. An introduction to actornetwork theory find, read and cite all the research. Bruno latours contention is that the word social, as used by social scientists, has become. Actornetwork theory ant years ago descriptive theories 1 summary.
Bruno latour, a philosopher and anthropologist, is the author of reassembling the social. Actor network theory was first proposed by sociologist bruno latour, actor network theory, or ant, has proven to be one of the most valiant theories of understanding how these different elements work together to produce technocultural phenomena. An introduction to actor network theory find, read and cite all the research. Actornetwork theory ant is a theoretical and methodological approach to social theory where everything in the social and natural worlds exists in constantly shifting networks of relationships. Jul 28, 2005 reassembling the social is a fundamental challenge from one of the worlds leading social theorists to how we understand society and the social. The theory suggests that these networks are what create our reality and that nothing exists outside of them. He often likened the scientific community to a battlefield. This approach, a sociology of associations, has become known as actor network theory, and this book is an essential introduction both for those seeking to understand actor network theory, or the ideasof one of its most influential proponents.