Controversies as method for ANTi-History

Abstract

Our aim is to develop and propose a method for ANTi-historians, using analysis of controversy as the starting point. Despite the theoretical and methodological development of the ANTi-history approach to the study of knowledge of the past and the creation of its history, there is room for method development based on controversy analysis. We ground our proposal in some of ANTi-history’s assumptions (relationalism, the symmetry principle, and multiplicity) and practical concepts (translation and politics of actor-networks). In addition, we recommend four criteria that researchers should use in choosing a controversy to serve as a starting point for investigation. Finally, we present five steps for investigating knowledge of the past and the creation of history.

Keywords

• anti-history
• organizational history
• controversies
• historic turn
• actor-network theory