Actor-network theory
Actor-network theory origin
Actor-network theory arose from the work of Bruno Latour, French sociologist Michel Callon and British anthropologist John Law.
ATN and sociological network theories
ATN is distinguished from many other STS and sociological network theories for its distinct material-semiotic approach.
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actor-network_theory
Sociology of Knowledge
Callon, Michel (1986). "Some Elements of a Sociology of Translation: Domestication of the Scallops and the Fishermen of St Brieuc Bay." pp. 196–233 in Power, Action and Belief: A New Sociology of Knowledge, edited by John Law. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Michel Callon
Michel Callon has spearheaded the movement of applying ANT approaches to study economic life.
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Callon
John Law
ANT strives to map relations that are simultaneously material (between things) and 'semiotic' (between concepts)
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Law_(sociologist)
Bruno Latour
... Although his studies of scientific practice were at one time associated with social constructionist approaches to the philosophy of science, Latour has diverged significantly from such approaches.
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Latour
Latour, Bruno. (1988). Science in Action. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
This work is Latour's major mid-career synthesis; in it, he develops a sociology of science and technology based on concept of non-human actors (called actants) in alliance with humans; such alliances may prevail if they are able, as Latour puts it, to withstand "trials of strength." One of the foundational works of Actor-network theory (ANT), Science in Action remains controversial in that some see Latour trying to sneak naive scientific realism and technological determinism in through the back door of science studies.
Latour, Bruno and Steve Woolgar. (1986) Laboratory Life. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
A pioneering anthropology of laboratory science -- and it wasn't just any laboratory. Latour studied Roger Guillemin's biomedical lab in La Jolla, CA, observing work that later resulted in Guillemin's receiving the Nobel Prize. Throughout the work, Latour cites the Strong Programme, but is clearly unwilling to deny that material phenomena play no role in the outcome of scientific controversies. Guillemin won out over his critics because, in part, he had identified what Latour came to call an actant -- a material phenomenon capable of "withstanding trials of strength." Guillemin formed an alliance with the actant; what is more, this alliance could be spread to others, and they too would be able to withstand trials of strength. This work is foundational in one of the three branches that later coalesced as Actor-network theory; the others arose from the work of French sociologist Michel Callon and British anthropologist John Law.