“An actant is a source of action that can be either human or nonhuman; it is that which has efficacy, can do things, has sufficient coherence to make a difference, produce effects, alter the course of events.” Latour Edibles, commodities, storms, fabrics. They are actants with trajectories and tendencies of their own. Matter, Jane Bennet puts it, is vibrant. Things have the ability to make things happen, to produce effects. We are co-becoming with our things. The material that surrounds us, that we have, that we see, that we come in touch with. It does not simply exist. It affects us.
Things
“An actant is a source of action that can be either human or nonhuman; it is that which has efficacy, can do things, has sufficient coherence to make a difference, produce effects, alter the course of events.” Latour Edibles, commodities, storms, fabrics. They are actants with trajectories and tendencies of their own. Matter, Jane Bennet puts it, is vibrant. Things have the ability to make things happen, to produce effects. We are co-becoming with our things. The material that surrounds us, that we have, that we see, that we come in touch with. It does not simply exist. It affects us.