What Critical Media Studies Should Not Take from Actor-Network Theory

While supportive towards a certain rapprochement between media studies and Actor-Network Theory (ANT) this chapter identi es three main characteristics of the Latourian enterprise that critical media studies should avoid if it wants to remain its critical edge: 1. a methodological descriptivism that relies on the victor’s account, 2. a rejection of the notion of structure, and 3. an innovative yet limited notion of intellectual work. The chapter next articulates a perspective on how a “weak” version of ANT can augment critical media studies while retaining the latter’s strong dedication to changing an unjust social order.