Can material matters and critique be dealt with at the same time? Discussion of analytical approaches

Material matters has to be dealt with in analysis of disasters, social crisis and conflicts since an important part of the unpredictability in these courses not only stems from human agency but as well from objects that are as well involved in complex webs of relations that shape the processes. Several theoretical traditions offer perspectives that take objects into account even though they approach the understanding of how material relations shape social life differently.
This presentation discusses how the research area on disaster, social crisis and conflict can benefit and be widen up from each of four traditions that cover a continuum of more or less radical involvement of materiality: ANT (e.g. Callon 1986) deals with materiality in the most radical way offering a framework where it is argued that symmetric analysis of human as well as non-human actants enriches an analysis. Post ANT (e.g. Mol 2002) distances itself from the ANT-tradition by focusing on the practices where humans and materiality are gathered instead of focusing on the relations between these actants. Working with Clarke?s (2005) notion of situational analysis as well as Practice Theory (e.g. Reckwitz 2002) materiality is as well offered a central place in the analysis though dimension of structural character are involved in contrary to both the ANT- and the Post ANT tradition.
The four approaches will be outlined in relation to different cases, and each tradition?s ability to deal with the question of critique will be discussed as well.