Actor-Network Mapping
Updated 2026-08-15
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Actor-network theory, associated with Bruno Latour, treats humans and non-humans, technologies, objects, and concepts alike as actors, and analyzes how they jointly constitute a social phenomenon through the network of their relations. Its model is the non-anthropocentric view: when analyzing a system, bring the technical and the material into account instead of reading only the behavior and the intentions of people.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- List the non-humans too: include the machines, texts, and devices as actors. - Trace the translations: follow how each actor is enrolled and how the relations change. - Find what holds: identify the specific links that keep the network stable.
Anchor fast decisions
A network is not a backdrop for human action; the relations between actors, including the non-human ones, are what produce the phenomenon, and a device or a document can hold a relation in place where a person's intention cannot. Stability is an achievement of the connections rather than a given, which is why it can collapse when a single link fails.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actor%E2%80%93network_theoryverified
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