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). 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. 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@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@connect.carleton.ca tsparadis@gmail.com Carleton University - Sociology & Anthropology Ottawa, ON, Canada _______________________________________________ The Air-L@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
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