Michel Foucault, Technology, and Actor-Network Theory

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Matthewman ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Social Theorist

While Michel Foucault’s significance as a social theorist is undisputed, his importance as a technological theorist is frequently overlooked. This article considers the richness and the range of Foucault’s technological thinking by surveying his works and interviews, and by tracking his influence within Actor-Network Theory (ANT). The argument is made that we will not fully understand Foucault without understanding the central place of technology in his work, and that we will not understand ANT without understanding Foucault.

Biopower and Plasma: How COVID-19 Made an ANT Theorist Stop Worrying and Love Foucault

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-126
Keyword(s):  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Human Body ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
The Body ◽  
Dynamic Object ◽  
Bruno Latour ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
The Third ◽  
Definition Of

The article deals with some problems in the works of Bruno Latour and Michel Foucault as they considered the body and biopower. To dispose of the Foucauldian concept of biopower, Latour proposed his theory of the body as a dynamic object constantly learning to be open to new articulations. The author points out the gaps in Latour’s solution and develops her own in order to return biopower into the realm of actor network theory. The body is to be understood as the privileged object in actor network theory, while both biopower and resistance to it are two fundamental and interrelated groups of articulations that allow the body to support the unlimited expansion of the network. This theory is validated by succeeding in three tasks. The first is to show that Latour’s definition of the human body has implications that are important both for his work with biopower and for actor network theory as a whole. The body in the actor network theory has a special status compared to any other objects, and this is the very reason that the control of biopower over the body plays such an important role. Only the body possesses the necessary “bandwidth” - the ability to bring into the network what is not in it. The second task is to compare the concepts of body and biopower in Latour and Foucault and partially translate them into each other’s terms. The third and last task involves deciding whether the body resists biopower through the logic of actor network theory, or whether the acquisition of a body is the only possible act of power. The article concludes with a demonstration of how the available theoretical resources can be used to describe the current coronavirus situation.

STRUCTURING A SUCCESSFUL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROCESS: A CASE STUDY FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF ACTOR NETWORK THEORY

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huda Ibrahim ◽  
Hasmiah Kasimin
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Technology Transfer ◽  
Transfer Process ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Private Company ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Technology Transfer Process

An effi cient and effective information technology transfer from developed countries to Malaysia is an important issue as a prerequisite to support the ICT needs of the country to become not only a ICT user but also a ICT producer. One of the factors that infl uences successful information technology transfer is managing the process of how technology transfer occurs in one environment. It involves managing interaction between all parties concerned which requires an organized strategy and action toward accomplishing technology transfer objective in an integrated and effective mode. Using a conceptual framework based on the Actor Network Theory (ANT), this paper will analyse a successful information technology transfer process at a private company which is also a supplier of information technology (IT) products to the local market. This framework will explain how the company has come up with a successful technology transfer in a local environment. Our study shows that the company had given interest to its relationships with all the parties involved in the transfer process. The technology transfer programme and the strategy formulated take into account the characteristics of technology and all those involved.  

The Action of Christian Buildings on their Chinese Environment

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-121
Author(s):  
Michel Chambon
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Active Part ◽  
Architectural Style ◽  
Actor Network

This article explores the ways in which Christians are building churches in contemporary Nanping, China. At first glance, their architectural style appears simply neo-Gothic, but these buildings indeed enact a rich web of significances that acts upon local Christians and beyond. Building on Actor-Network Theory and exploring the multiple ties in which they are embedded, I argue that these buildings are agents acting in their own right, which take an active part in the process of making the presence of the Christian God tangible.

The model of an intelligent information security control system for supply chains based on the spatial concepts of the actor-network theory

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 94-106
Author(s):  
Y.M. Iskanderov ◽  
◽  
M.D. Pautov
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Information Security ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Spatial Concepts ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Information Security Management System ◽  
Security Control ◽  
Intelligent Information

Aim. The use of modern information technologies makes it possible to achieve a qualitatively new level of control in supply chains. In these conditions, ensuring information security is the most important task. The article shows the possibilities of applying the spatial concepts of the actor-network theory in the interests of forming a relevant intelligent information security management system for supply chains. Materials and methods. The article discusses a new approach based on the provisions of the actor-network theory, which makes it possible to form the structure of an intelligent information security control system for supply chains, consisting of three main functional blocks: technical, psychological and administrative. The incoming information security threats and the relevant system responses generated through the interaction of the system blocks were considered as enacting the three Law’s spaces: the space of regions, the space of networks and the space of fl uids. Results. It is shown that the stability of this system in the space of networks is a necessary condition for its successful functioning in the space of regions, and its resilience in the space of fl uids gained through the dynamic knowledge formation helps overcome the adverse effects of the fl uidity. The problems of the intentional / unintentional nature of information security threats, as well as the reactivity / proactivity of the corresponding responses of the intelligent information security management system for supply chains are investigated. Conclusions. The proposed approach showed the possibility of using such an interdisciplinary tool in the fi eld of information security as the concepts of the actor-network theory. The intelligent information security control system built on its basis ensures that almost all the features of solving information security problems in supply chains are taken into account.

Death Sentencing by Zoom: An Actor-Network Theory Analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milena Heinsch ◽  
Tania Sourdin ◽  
Caragh Brosnan ◽  
Hannah Cootes
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Theory Analysis ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Death Sentencing
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