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Bruno Latour. Reassembling the Social: An introduction to Actor-Network-Theory

Rowland, Nicholas J. and Passoth, Jan-Hendrik and B., Alexander (2011) Bruno Latour. Reassembling the Social: An introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science, 5 (1). pp. 95-99. ISSN 1913-0465

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Abstract

It seems peculiar that a non-theory, anti-method has managed to become canonical, but that is what Bruno Latour will introduce you to in his book; the post-pluralist, post-humanist attitude called Actor-Network-Theory (ANT). Drawing together heaps of controversial research, Latour resuscitates ANT after its 1999 death (see Law and Hassard 1999). Like Graham Harman’s book about Latour, The Prince of Networks (2009), Reassembling the Social is the outcome of various lectures and seminars, and must be read as such. Readers looking for the second incarnation of Science in Action (1987) or a follow-up to The Pasteurization of France (1988) will be sorely disappointed because Latour’s offering here is more akin to Politics of Nature (2004) or We Have Never Been Modern (1993) in that the audience gets a repetitive synthesis peppered with aperçu rather than reams of deep empirical analysis, as Gubert (2007, 603) has also suggested. Conceivably, the book might be the classroom workhorse for Latour’s new transnational teaching and research project “Mapping Controversies,” which is running simultaneously in six institutions (see http://www.demoscience.org/).


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Item Type: Published Article or Volume
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Rowland, Nicholas J.
Passoth, Jan-Hendrik
B., Alexander
Keywords: Scientific Realism; Epistemic Issues; Epistemology of Science
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science
General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
General Issues > Science and Society
General Issues > Technology
General Issues > Values In Science
Depositing User: Jordan Miller
Date Deposited: 11 Sep 2021 02:26
Last Modified: 11 Sep 2021 02:26
Item ID: 17892
Journal or Publication Title: Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science
Publisher: The University of Toronto
Official URL: https://spontaneousgenerations.library.utoronto.ca...
DOI or Unique Handle: 10.4245/sponge.v5i1.14968
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science
General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
General Issues > Science and Society
General Issues > Technology
General Issues > Values In Science
Date: 30 September 2011
Page Range: pp. 95-99
Volume: 5
Number: 1
ISSN: 1913-0465
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/17892

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