Tools
BPenuel who-is-at aol.com
Sun, 8 Oct 1995 22:39:11 -0400
Michael's challenge--to articulate why the concept of
tools is at all useful, is an important one to consider
for sociocultural research. I think there's a good case
for "tools" and "tool use," keeping in mind how
sign-mediation has the potential to _transform_ human
activity. The introduction of sound for instance, to
film, was not simply an "add-on" to the activity. It
changed _what_ counted as a good film and _who_ could
be considered a good actor, as Singin' in the Rain
dramatizes.
>From the actor-network view as well, in Latour's work
one can find the role of tool as "actant" in a network,
one that can be recruited in a complex rhetorical
strategy by scientist, and one that recruits to it entire
laboratories of scientists in the process of being
included in scientific activity.
I'm sure others have examples?
Bill Penuel
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