글로벌 시대 인문지리학에 있어서 행위자 -네트워크 이론(ANT)의 적용 가능성 = An Exploration on the Applicability of Actor-Network Theory(ANT) in Human Geography at the Age of Globalization

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The globalizing process of capitalism has been challenging conventional hegemonic categories and boundaries, for it generates intricate relations in-between people’s life-worlds. Consequently, the significance of relationality is highly raised than ever, and social sciences including human geography have been experiencing what is called ‘relational turn.’ Relational geography opposes to geometric and boundary-oriented notions of distance, proximity, place, city, region, territory, and scale. Instead, it problematizes them as social constructs of various practices, which heterogeneous actors conduct for forming spatio-temporal networks beyond physical distance. As such, the actor-network theory (ANT) could well contribute to relational geography. It strongly emphasizes topologies and practices. Especially, the notion of ‘translation’ that ANT accentuates is signifiant in understanding how heterogenous actor-networks develop hegemonic socio-spatial categories and boundaries with certain normativity. This paper conclusively suggests that ANT could intervene in and contribute to academic discussion on both world cities and urban networks in urban geography and trust and embeddedness in economic geography.