Analysing the multiplicity of voices in the agora: Using Actor-Network Theory to unravel a complex issue

Abstract

There is a need to develop an understanding of how science knowledge is interpreted and used when a Socially Acute Question is discussed on the ‘agora’ of the internet. A case is made for using Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to unravel the diversity of participants taking part, their stance, the source and expression of their justifications. This interaction can be visually expressed as a Cartography of Controversy. The Socially Acute Question of possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) control using aerial dispersal of 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) was the context in which the participants (actants), their performative actions and affiliations (nodes) were mapped. Actants were identified via a Google search of websites of groups with an opinion about 1080. Twenty-three groups were identified and their home pages analysed in terms how they perceived the issue. The construction of a cartography from this data showed the complexity of the group interactions. Furthermore, an analysis of justifications used by a group opposing this method of possum control illustrated the range of stabilising mechanisms that they used. This research has demonstrated the educational potential of ANT to develop a pedagogy that enables students to explore an issue and appreciate the multiplicity of perspectives when investigating a Socially Acute Question. Of equal importance is the potential for this theory to illustrate how science knowledge can be made more socially robust when it is exposed to an extended peer community who give consideration to issues of equity and insist that values be brought into the peer review process.