Michel Foucault, Technology, and Actor-Network Theory (2013)

Clare O'Farrell

22 August 2014

Steve Matthewman, Michel Foucault, Technology, and Actor-Network Theory,Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology, Volume 17, Issue 2, Spring 2013, Pages 274-292

DOI: 10.5840/techne201317210
Pre-publication copy

Author’s blog

Abstract
While Michel Foucault’s significance as a social theorist is undisputed, his importance as a technological theorist is frequently overlooked. This article considers the richness and the range of Foucault’s technological thinking by surveying his works and interviews, and by tracking his influence within Actor-Network Theory (ANT). The argument is made that we will not fully understand Foucault without understanding the central place of technology in his work, and that we will not understand ANT without understanding Foucault.