On 20/4/04 11:04 pm, "joannitavl" <joannitavl@...> wrote:
Hi!!
I'm triyng to explain Humboldt's exploration trips from actor
network theory, but i've been having trouble understanding some
concepts Latour and Callon introduced in some of their books.
If maybe some of you could explain what is exactly a focal actor,
and what is the purpose of the process of problematizaction in the
process of creating an acotr network (Translation), i would really
appreciate it.
Joanna
Ps. Please excuse my english i'm still learning, it's not my native
language.
Joanna,
Well, I don’t remember either of these terms off hand but the term focal actor suggests to me something between an obligatory point of passage and a centre of calculation; an actor that acts on others to bring them into some kind of focus. Like, for example surveying instruments create the possibility of accurate maps which become essential for future expeditions. As for problematisation, its one of Foucault’s terms for the process by which social (and other problems) emerge into consciousness, like for example child abuse in the 1970s. In ANT terms, I’d see it in terms of entanglements that resist change (see for example Leigh Star’s article “ON Being Allergic to Onions”) or the actors that destabilise attempts to use immutable mobiles, for example when technology is transported to another place and its use changes. Why don’t you say what you think these terms mean and we can say if it makes sense. I find this helps sort my thinking out.
BTW I agree the Uni of Lancs site is v. useful for books try “A sociology of monsters” and ‘ANT and after’ both edited by John Law and someone else both in the Sociological Review monographs series.
Andrew Bolger
Hi!! I'm triyng to explain Humboldt's exploration trips from actor network theory, but i've been having trouble understanding some concepts Latour and Callon...
joannitavl
joannitavl@...
Apr 20, 2004 10:52 pm
Hi Joanna and all, I am not trying to answer your question, but I want to ask some further questions on ANT. Is there any authoritative source on ANT that...
Hi Joanna and Irwan Just to say that you can find some interesting links about ANT, which could help you, here in our yahoo group. Just go to this link: ...
Hi all, I think one of the major issues with actor-network theory and ANT is that it has been appropriated by various fields of study and on the way it has ...
Hi Mentor, I agree with you about ANT being appropriated (perhaps 'translated' is a better word) by different disciplines. I'm a PhD student in criminology...
... Hi Mike, I tried to explain the actor-network theory vs. ANT in my previous e-mail I just sent to the list. Latour makes the argument that the actual...
Thanks for the clarification Mentor... I read that piece a while back and must have missed the point about the acronym ANT as an example of translation. But...
That is an excellent idea. I have never found anything like this but haven't looked for info on ANT in about a year or so. If there is nothing like this...
Hi all, I would like to address the issue Irwan has raised below in regards to an "authoritative source on ANT that explains all the important concepts and how...
Hello Mentor, I visited your blog. It is a great resource. Has lots of good straight forward definitions. I was at a knowledge management trade show...
Hi all, Thank you for your answer, Mentor Cana! I have tried to ask this same question in some occasions and got similar answers. Some of the people I met were...
... got similar ... it while some ... l it Actor ... erpretation ... e used ANT ... did not really know how to use it) as a ... supposed to ... s, please ... ...
Hello Joanna and other, I have just defended a M.Sc. dissertation using the ANT. At first, I would like to know where did you get this "focal actor" ? Could...
Hi, Joanna "Focal actor" is not a commom expression in the realm of ANT. I don't know what it might mean. Is there any chance it is related to that method of...
Having problems with message search?
Fill out this form to ensure your group is one of the first to be migrated to the new message search system.
Offline 
Send Email
