Actor-Network Theory as I image it. Brief essay on traffic lights La ANT tal como yo la imagino. Breve ensayo sobre el cosmos semafórico

• Main Author: Carlos Enrique Silva Rios
• Format: Article
• Language: Catalan
• Published: Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona 2011-03-01
• Series: Athenea Digital
• Subjects: Semáforo; Teoría del Actor-Red; Descripción Densa; Imaginación
• Online Access: http://psicologiasocial.uab.es/athenea/index.php/atheneaDigital/article/view/822

<span class="hps"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times;">Three years ago</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times;"> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">I came</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">to</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">Barcelona</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">with</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">a firm intention</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">that I had to</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">change after</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">about two</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">months from my arrival</span></span>. <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">I wanted</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">to study</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">people</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">crossing</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">the</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">street in this city</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">and then compare</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">their</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">actions</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">with</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">those of</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">the people</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">in my</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">hometown -<span>  </span>Caracas</span></span>. <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">Since</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">carrying</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">out a comparison between</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">two</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">cities</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">was time consuming</span></span>, <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">I decided to do</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">my</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">research</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">in</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">Barcelona only</span></span>. <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">Later on</span></span>, <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">for</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">studying</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">people</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">crossing</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">the street</span></span>, <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">I decided to consider</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">traffic lights</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">as</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">a starting point</span></span>. <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">Then</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">I undertook</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">the</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">task of preparing</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">a field diary</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">based on some</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">of the</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">notions</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">of</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">Actor</span></span><span class="atn"><span style="font-family: Times;">-</span></span>Network <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">Theory</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">as</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">Bruno</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">Latour</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">puts them</span></span>. <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">I did not use</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">his approach</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">as</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">a systematic set</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">of</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">concepts</span></span>, <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">but</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">as</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">a</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">device</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">for</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">imagination</span></span>, <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">i.e.,</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">as</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">a number</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">of</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">ways that promote</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">and facilitate the</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">re</span></span>-creation <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">of</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">worldly</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">events</span></span>. <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">In</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">this</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">essay</span></span>, <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">I</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">briefly</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">present</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">a part</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">of my</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">research experience,</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">and</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">I focus</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">on</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">the</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">following</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">idea</span></span>: <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">we can compose</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">a</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">common world</span></span>, <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">a</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">cosmos</span></span>, from a <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">seemingly</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">discrete</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">entity</span></span>, <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">in</span></span> <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">my case</span></span>, a <span class="hps"><span style="font-family: Times;">traffic light.</span></span></span> Hace tres años llegué a Barcelona con una intención firme que pasados unos dos meses tuve que echar por tierra. Quería estudiar a la gente cruzando la calle en esta ciudad y luego comparar sus actos con los de la gente de mi ciudad de origen, Caracas. Mis evaluadores, apenas se enteraron de mi propósito, me desaconsejaron, ya que comparar requería de un tiempo que no tenía. Debía dedicarme sólo a una de las ciudades. Escogí Barcelona. Más tarde, en una segunda consulta, volvieron a desaconsejarme: en lugar de estudiar a la gente que cruza la calle, me recomendaban que tomara como punto de partida el semáforo; específicamente, el cambio de luz y si era posible la luz misma. Esta especie de atomización del interés, en lugar de amilanarme, redefinió y acicateó mi entusiasmo cogitativo, y con ese impulso emprendí la tarea de elaborar un diario de campo. Como no se podía hacer eso de una manera ingenua, tomé la decisión de asumir una mirada y luego una escritura sesgada por algunas de las nociones de la Teoría del Actor-Red tal como las plantea Bruno Latour. Su manera de ver el mundo, más que recibirla como un conjunto sistemático de conceptos, la he incorporado muy lentamente como un dispositivo de imaginación, es decir, como una serie de formas que promueven y facilitan la re-creación de los acontecimientos mundanos. En este ensayo hablo brevemente de parte de esa experiencia investigativa, centrándome en una idea que para mí no deja de ser fascinante: es posible componer un mundo común, un cosmos, partiendo de una entidad aparentemente discreta; en mi caso, el semáforo.