ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses actor-network theory, specifically focusing on the work of Bruno Latour. A central feature that distinguishes ANT from more conventional sociology is the role given to non-human actors, sometimes referred to as actants. The sources of confusion relate to the technical use of the term network – such as power networks, rail networks or the internet – or traditional sociological notions of networks relating to inter-human connections between organisations, markets and states. The Modern Constitution describes the foundations of modernity. While Latour started to consider how the Modern Constitution might be rewritten, his subsequent works have developed this idea in more depth – particularly the notion of a Parliament of Things. The chapter argues that Latour's politics are ultimately anthropocentric and liberal, and thus fail to provide the basis for an emancipatory project of posthumanism. It relates Latour's work to authors' own emancipatory project.