Prologue in the form of a dialogue between a student and his (somewhat) Socratic Professor (collective translation) Cover Image

Prolog w dormie dialogu pomiędzy studentem i (cokolwiek) sokratycznym profesorem (przekład zbiorowy)
Prologue in the form of a dialogue between a student and his (somewhat) Socratic Professor (collective translation)

Author(s): Bruno Latour
Subject(s): Anthropology
Published by: Instytut Badań Literackich Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: Actor-Network Theory; laboratory anthropology

Summary/Abstract: The text is in the form of a dialogue between a professor representing the Actor-Network Theory and a doctor’s degree candidate whose tutor has suggested to him that he applied the approach in his research. A talk is, then, one between an expert (in a given area) and a layman. Such a structure enables the staging of going through a variety of misunderstandings arising around the Theory and some typical accusations charged against it. The first to tackle were the troubles with the name itself and the improper use of the term ‘theory’. Then came the question of understanding what a tool is; juxtaposing the frame (as a context) with a description; objectivity and empiricism and relativism at the same time; text approached as a social sciences laboratory. The notion of ‘actor’ made opposite to a marionette controlled by social forces, thus being an informer only, is discussed at more length. Along with those, accompanying issues appear of information as trans-formation, invisibility of actors and their criticality and reflexivity.

  • Issue Year: 2007
  • Issue No: 1-2
  • Page Range: 127-143
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Polish