Hybrid production of gardens: an actor–network analysis of heterogeneous power relations

ABSTRACT

Gardens open to the public are popular tourism attractions. Even though human geographers have studied gardens from the perspective of actor–network theory (ANT), there has been little empirical research into the ways in which gardens open to the public are produced by a hybrid of human and non-human entities. In addition, despite its linkage with Foucault's relational notion of power, recent ANT-inspired studies are not explicit about the investigation of power relations between human and non-human actors. Therefore, this paper explores what kinds of heterogeneous power relations emerge when gardens open to the public are produced by a hybrid of human and non-humans. On account of its suitability for ANT, ethnomethodology was employed as a methodological underpinning and qualitative data were collected from fieldwork conducted in gardens open to the public in Scotland. The paper contributes to the geographical school of tourism by suggesting four types of heterogeneous power relations: coercion, acquiescence, negotiation and synergistic transaction. Coercion refers to a relation in which one actor's will or identity is forcefully marginalised by another actor; acquiescence is a relation in which an actor unwillingly accepts its marginalised status whereas another actor maintains its ruling status; negotiation denotes a situation in which power balance between heterogeneous actors are provisional; synergistic transaction is a hybrid assemblage that brings a greater effect, than that of a single actor, on the enhancement of tourism spaces. The paper concludes by discussing how the proposed typology helps ANT researchers rethink the production of tourism spaces, and by asking readers what other types of heterogeneous power relations are possible.

摘要:

公共花园是热门的旅游景点。尽管人文地理学家已经从行动者网络理论(ANT)的角度研究了花园, 但对于人类和非人类各种因素如何生产公共花园, 很少有相关的实证研究。此外, 尽管行动者网络理论与福柯的权力关系概念有联系, 但最近的行动者网络理论引发的研究并没有明确考察人类和非人类行动者之间的权力关系。因此, 本文探讨了由人类和非人类的混合因素生产公共花园时所呈现的各种权力关系。考虑到常人方法论 (ethnomethodology) 对行动者网络理论的适用性, 本文以常人方法学为方法基础, 在苏格兰对公共花园进行田野调查, 收集了质性数据。本文提出了四种异质性的权力关系:强迫、默从、协商和协同处理。强迫指的是一个行动者的意志或身份被另一个行动者强制性地边缘化;默从指的是行动者不情愿地接受其被边缘化的地位, 而另一名行动者维持其统治地位;协商代表了一种情况, 即各个行动者之间的权力平衡是暂时的;协同处理是一种混合组合, 它对于增强旅游空间带来的效果比单个行动者的效果更大。文章最后讨论了本文提出的权力关系分类如何帮助行动者网络理论研究人员重新思考旅游空间的生产, 并询问读者是否还存在其他异质性的权力关系。

KEYWORDS:

• Gardens
• actor–network theory
• power
• Foucault
• hybrid
• non-humans
• coercion
• acquiescence
• negotiation
• synergistic transaction

关键词:

• 花园
• 行动者网络理论
• 权力
• 福柯
• 混合体
• 非人类
• 强迫
• 默从
• 协商
• 协同处理

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sho Shimoyamada

Sho Shimoyamada is a Project Researcher in Higher Education at The University of Tokyo, Japan. He holds a PhD in Education from The University of Edinburgh, Scotland. His research interest includes sociology of leisure, educational technologies and art worlds.