The actor-network theory (ANT) explains the relationships between actors (human and nonhuman) and other actors, between actors and ideas, and between ideas and other ideas, all of which create an ever-changing network of actors and ideas. The actions occurring within the network, however, must be continuously repeated, or else the network will fall apart. A helpful example of ANT can be found in its Wikipedia article: teachers and children (human actors) interact with one another as well as with various technologies, such as chairs, tables, and computers (nonhuman actors), all the while exchanging ideas, thereby creating a network; if the teachers do not come to school each morning, or the computers cease to work, the network will disintegrate. Actor-network theory is not, however, about the network itself, nor does it explain why a network forms between certain actors and ideas. Rather, it explains how a network begins, how it maintains itself, and how it falls apart. Norwegian Professor Ole Hanseth provides another helpful example of ANT: when driving a car, a person is influenced by a number of things, including the condition of the car, traffic regulations, and his or her previous experience driving said car, thus creating a network consisting of both human and nonhuman actors, various ideas, and the relationships that exist between each of these factors. This network was set into motion the moment the person stepped into the car, the actors, ideas and relationships falling into place immediately afterward. The network will temporarily disintegrate once the person turns off his or her car and walks away, only to begin once again the next time he or she decides to drive, perhaps adding more components to the network (driving lessons, a police ticket, or a passenger) upon doing so. To sum this concept up, I would like to quote Hanseth: "You do not go about doing your business in a total vacuum but rather under the influence of a wide range of surrounding factors." Actor-network theory, therefore, explains how the "wide range of surrounding factors" comes together as a network, how that network persists, and how that network falls apart.
The impact that the actor-network theory will have on our group project is enormous; an actor-network is essentially a group of people, things, and ideas working together, and that is, more or less, what our project is as well. The "people" will consist of not only the members of the Rowan University Wildlife Conservation Society, but also the students we will request lend a hand in helping us out, the professors we may need to ask advice from, the administrators we will appeal to for permission and financial aid, the grounds crew, the town officials, the students' families, even (and perhaps most importantly) the wildlife. The "things" will consist of birds houses that will be used by goldfinches, the bird feeders that will be visited by chickadees, the boxes nested in by owls, the gardens, the ponds, the newly-planted trees. The "ideas" will consist of improving the campus enough to bring back the wildlife which it is so obviously missing, giving our specified bird species somewhere to bathe, eat, sleep, and live, cleaning up the campus's environment so that other animals will feel comfortable enough to live here. The actor-network theory is so deeply embedded within our project that it is close to being our project; it is, at any rate, our project's backbone.
Sources: Wikipedia.org
ü Articles on the Actor-Network Theory ü
- Young, David, Ron Borland, and Ken Coghill. "An Actor-Network Theory Analysis Of Policy Innovation For Smoke-Free Places: Understanding Change In Complex Systems." American Journal Of Public Health 100.7 (2010): 1208-1217. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.
Article Summary: In their article, "An Actor-Network Theory Analysis Of Policy Innovation For Smoke-Free Places: Understanding Change In Complex Systems", David Young, Ron Borland and Ken Coghill explain how the actor-network theory can be used to implement tobacco use management. As is stated in their article, the actor-network theory is a system, and systems are often created based on the foundation of the system which existed before it, whether or not said system was successful. In this way, tobacco use management might not always be lucrative in, say, keeping an area "smoke-free"; the system used before the current system and of which the latter is based off of may have failed, therefore causing the new system to fail as well. What Young, Borland, and Coghill suggest is to use actors and networks that exist beyond the old actors and old networks to create a system that will effectively manage tobacco usage: "Fundamental, innovative change requires action outside of existing system structures".
- Allen, Casey D., and Chris Lukinbeal. "Practicing Physical Geography: An Actor-Network View Of Physical Geography Exemplified By The Rock Art Stability Index." Progress In Physical Geography 35.2 (2011): 227-248. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.
- Fenwick, Tara J. "(Un)Doing Standards In Education With Actor-Network Theory." Journal Of Education Policy 25.2 (2010): 117-133. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.
ü Additional Information ü
Learning Theories's Internet article on the actor-network theory.
The International Society for Complexity, Information and Design's (ISCID) Internet article on the actor-network theory.
An Internet article on the actor-network theory.
A YouTube video on the actor-network theory.
The Wikipedia article on the actor-network theory.
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