On assemblages and things: fluidity, stability, causation stories and formation stories
Timothy Rutzou
Dave Elder-Vass
2134/9636617.v1
https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/On_assemblages_and_things_fluidity_stability_causation_stories_and_formation_stories/9636617
<p>This paper conducts a dialogue, and creates a new synthesis,
between two of the most influential ontological discourses in the field of
sociology: assemblage theory and critical realism. The former proposes a focus
on difference, fluidity and process, the latter a focus on stability and
structure. Drawing on and assessing the work of Deleuze, DeLanda and Bhaskar, we
argue that social ontology must overcome the tendency to bifurcate between
these two poles and instead develop an ontology more suited to explaining
complex social phenomena by accommodating elements of both traditions. Going
beyond DeLanda’s recent work, we argue that a concept of causal types must be
employed alongside a typology of structures to give us an ontology that can
sustain sociology’s need for both formation stories and causation stories. We
illustrate the necessity and value of our proposed synthesis by discussing
MacKenzie’s recent empirical analysis of a high frequency trading firm.</p><br>
2019-08-16 08:54:30
Sociology
Assemblage
Heterogeneity
Deleuze
DeLanda
Critical realism
Sociology