Curating actor-network theory: testing object-oriented sociology in the Science Museum

Abstract

Across different traditions of social research, the study of science exhibitions has often taken the form of an 'object-oriented' inquiry. In this tradition, actor-network theory (ANT) has focused on how the processes of exhibiting objects mediate relations between science and society. Although ANT has not developed as a theory of curating, it nonetheless contributes to revaluing the work performed by curators in relation to the practice of science. This article describes an ethnographic engagement with a curatorial experiment in a science museum which staged a 'multi-viewpoint' exhibition of an object. A display of an object 'in process', I take the opportunity of this curatorial experiment to explore analogies drawn in ANT studies between museums and laboratories in attending to the ways that curatorial practices mediate science. I ask whether, and to what extent, ANT can account for curating as a material practice that not only participates in domesticating objects for science but also in problematizing, multiplying and redistributing relations between objects and the social.

An Actor-Network Perspective on Collections Documentation and Data Practices at Museums

“…In other words, ANT can help facilitate a better understanding of the interaction between the social (e.g., organizations) and the technical system (e.g., CMSs) in the social context of the development, implementation, and use of such a system, rather than the de facto treatment of technology as simple tools used by humans. Research surrounding museum studies (Cameron 2008;Kéfi andPallud 2011 andWaller 2016, for instance) also attempts, from an ANT perspective, to bring about new understandings on the complex interplay between museums, museum practitioners, museum collections and digital technology. This paper considers museums' CMS, online catalogue, metadata of collection records, and digital design objects as sociotechnical objects (Akrich 1992), which are not just final products but also fluid actors with agency (Latour 2005) that negotiate with other actors who might have different goals.…”

CURADURÍAS PARTICIPATIVAS Y VINCULACIÓN TERRITORIAL: EL PROYECTO ‘MIRADA DE BARRIO’ DEL MUSEO DE LA SOLIDARIDAD SALVADOR ALLENDE DE CHILE

“…A partir de la metodología de investigación-acción, en los últimos años han surgido modelos de trabajo que se han complementado con las técnicas curaduriales del arte contemporáneo (Evans, 2014;Waller, 2016). Estas nuevas estrategias, que aquí podríamos denominar como de investigación-acción-curadurial, ofrecen un camino valioso de trabajo.…”

Exploring Relations to Documents and Documentary Infrastructures: The Case of Museum Management After Austerity

“…My focus on documentary infrastructures is informed by current scholarship in the field of museum and heritage studies where an anatomic view of museums has produced detailed accounts of their inner workings. Sharon Macdonald's Behind the Scenes at the Science Museum (2002) is an important text in this regard, bringing into focus how decisions about exhibitions are made and the logics underpinning the various choices involved in producing museum displays (see also Yaneva 2003;Waller 2016;Patrick 2016). Uniting this literature is an ambition to lift the processes involved in museum work from obscurity, contributing important insights on how aspects of museums which are frequently viewed as settled and selfevident are in fact the result of compromises and negotiations wherein issues of professional expertize and political agendas play a central role.…”