latour/Wittgenstein

Mike Cole (mcole who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu)
Tue, 19 Dec 1995 09:13:08 -0800 (PST)

Dear Colleagues-- Before logging on just now I was reading a student
paper on Latour's "We have never been modern." At home my daughter/
anthropologist is reading a more recent set of lectures in which
an "philosophical anthropology" that assumes symmetry between humans
and artifacts vis a vis agency. Alan Stockdale's post points us
to Wittgenstein. John Shotter is writing about Wittgenstein and
Vygogsky. Intertwined, there is a discussion about reading practices
and the academic reading/writing process that culminates in a
dissertation ritual.

I personally feel strongly the need for some new, intermediate,
tools to help me construct a more stable account of the inter-relationships
that are being gestured at so densely.

Jay is promising some material summarizing Latour's main ideas
John, would a more extensive summary of the Wittgensteinian critique
of Latour woulr be interesting. I could try to organize a brief summary
of a paper by Harraway on Latour. Note also that Latour has a long review
of Hutchin's *Cognition in the Wild* in an upcoming MCA and that he will
be providing his own statement in an MCA symposium to appear later
next year.

When Cheryl returns from holiday, we will look into how better to develop
use of the xmca server and web page to provide a medium for getting
more of the pieces "before our eyes" so to speak.
mike