[Air-L] Using ANT as ethos and method

Stefano De Paoli Stefano.DePaoli at nuim.ie
Tue Feb 10 09:04:44 PST 2009


2009/2/10 jeremy hunsinger <jhuns at vt.edu>:

> I think we have to be very careful with ANT.  ANT does not really support
> critique or critical sociology ala bourdieu's reflexivity. Reflexivity for
> ANT means something entirely different and unrelated to power(more like
> acting in a way to bring about actions you expect or knowing one's
> relationships in the network of actions).

True.
Reflexivity in ANT is not about power.
Thought, I think that with reflexivity they mean that
you should be able to apply your explanation to sociology itself.

This is in David Bloor Knowledge and Social Imagery - "strong programme"

Power is not a concept for
> actor-network, it doesn't talk about power, it talks about who acts, where
> acting is something that objects can do as much as subjects.    If you are
> interested in framing and power, you are doing something other than ANT.

False.
Latour says somewhere that power is not the "cause" of
actor-netwroking, but the "result" of actor-networking

He refers in some early works to Machiavelli to discuss this...for example
http://www.bruno-latour.fr/articles/article/036.html

S.

>  Translation though is a big point of Callon's ANT, but it is different from
> framing because it is specifically an act that enables the recruitment of
> others to the network.   Alexander pointed out a key idea of ANT which is
> the symmetry principle.  The symmetry principle rules out the analysis of
> power and domination.  You can read about the symmetry principle and its
> origin in "The Social Construction of Technological Systems" .
>
> This is not to say one can't introduce domination, power and reflexivity in
> relation to power into one's analysis, but i think then you are definitely
> doing something beyond ANT.
>
>
>> In terms of flattening the divide, i would be cautious not to take this as
>> face value and I think a more practical approach would be to take a
>> reflexive approach to relations. As in my own case, acknowledging that the
>> voice of children often come from a position of marginal power and
>> reflecting on how they come to be translated by design teams and also
>> through research (such as my own).  You talk about how the pursuit of MMO
>> gaming is treated as a socially maligned form of leisure and I think that
>> ANT would have the potential to help you understand how this activity
>> becomes framed as such (especially when it may not be significantly
>> different to other forms of activity which receive less social prejudice).
>> These were just a few ideas I had when considering your post. I'll be
>> happy
>> to talk off list further about ANT if you wish.
>>
>> Good luck with the research.
>>
>> Liam
>>
>> --
>> Liam Berriman
>> PhD Student
>> Department of Sociology
>> Goldsmiths, University of London
>> New Cross
>> London
>> SE14 6NW
>>
>> On Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 3:14 PM, Tamara Paradis <tsparadis at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi all
>>>
>>> I'm working on a graduate project that explores the controversies and
>>> understandings of MMO gaming as valid leisure. I'm curious what is it
>>> about
>>> MMO gaming that results in it being viewed as geeky, strange,
>>> "luser-ish",
>>> etc. I've been struck by the ways in which MMO gamers themselves, as well
>>> as
>>> everday non-gaming folks and mass media reportage (outside of financial
>>> reports!) seem to accept that MMO gaming is somehow a type of strange and
>>> suspect pursuit.
>>>
>>> I've long been intrigued with the work of Bruno Latour and others from
>>> SST
>>> and material culture studies who use an Actor-Network Theory (ANT)
>>> approach
>>> to studying the world and its phenomenon. I am drawn to the ethos of ANT
>>> which flattens the divide between researcher and the researched, and
>>> which
>>> advocates jettisoning old notions of society and "the social", and the
>>> old
>>> (artificial?) divides between micro/macro, structure/individual,
>>> power/domination etc. in the interests of letting the actions tell the
>>> story
>>> of the results. I'm equlally drawn but intimidated by the methods built
>>> into
>>> ANT -- the mapping of actors and connections and associations.
>>>
>>> I'm trying to convince a reluctant adviser that an ANT approach is a
>>> valid
>>> way of studying my research question. Given the digital focus and the
>>> desire
>>> to use ANT as ethos and method, as well as the ways in which ANT
>>> approaches
>>> study and fieldwork, I'm having a rough go of it.  I'm wondering if any
>>> of
>>> you are using ANT or have used it in the past for qualitiative research
>>> purposes (e.g. virtual ethnography; findings reporting; etc.). If you
>>> have
>>> done so in the past, are in the midst of doing so now or are at least
>>> intrigued by the possibilities, I'd be interested in talking with you
>>> off-list.
>>>
>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>> Tamara Paradis
>>> tparadis at connect.carleton.ca
>>> tsparadis at gmail.com
>>> Carleton University - Sociology & Anthropology
>>> Ottawa, ON, Canada
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> The Air-L at listserv.aoir.org mailing list
>>> is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org
>>> Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at:
>>> http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
>>>
>>> Join the Association of Internet Researchers:
>>> http://www.aoir.org/
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> The Air-L at listserv.aoir.org mailing list
>> is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org
>> Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at:
>> http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
>>
>> Join the Association of Internet Researchers:
>> http://www.aoir.org/
>
> _______________________________________________
> The Air-L at listserv.aoir.org mailing list
> is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org
> Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at:
> http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
>
> Join the Association of Internet Researchers:
> http://www.aoir.org/
>



-- 
Stop the numbers game
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1297797.1297815
http://portal.acm.org/ft_gateway.cfm?id=1297815&type=pdf&coll=GUIDE&dl=GUIDE&CFID=18972113&CFTOKEN=24829054



More information about the Air-L mailing list