ACTOR-NETWORK THEORY: SENSITIVE TERMS AND ENDURING TENSIONS

ANT is not a "theory", or, if it is, then a "theory" does not necessarily offer a coherent framework, but may as well be an adaptable, open repository. A list of terms. A set of sensitivities. If ANT is a theory, then a theory helps to tell cases. draw contrasts, articulate silent layers, turn questions upside down, focus on the unexpected, add to one's sensitivities, propose new terms, and shift stories from one context to another. In this presentation of "Actor Network Theory" the terms "actor", "network", "theory", as well as the terms "order" and "coordination", will be explored. But mind you. ANT does not define these terms, but rather plays with them. It does not seek coherence. It does not build a stronghold. Instead of crafting an overall scheme that becomes more and more solid as it gets more and more refined, ANT texts are out to move to generate, to transform, to translate. To enrich. And to betray.