Aramis, or the Love of Technology

Aramis, or the Love of Technology was written by French sociologist/anthropologist Bruno Latour. Aramis was originally published in French in 1993; the English translation by Catherine Porter, copyrighted in 1996, ISBN 978-0-674-04323-7, is now in its fourth printing (2002). Latour describes his text as "scientifiction," which he describes as "a hybrid genre... for a hybrid task" (p. ix). The genre includes voices of a young engineer discussing his "sociotechnological initiation," his professor's commentary which introduces Actor-network theory (ANT), field documents - including real-life interviews, and the voice of Aramis—a failed technology ( p. x).

The book is a quasi-mystery, which attempts to discover who killed Aramis (personal rapid transit). Aramis was supposed to be implemented as a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system in Paris. Simultaneously, while investigating Aramis's demise, Latour delineates the tenets of Actor-network theory. Latour argues that the technology failed not because any particular actor killed it, but because the actors failed to sustain it through negotiation and adaptation to a changing social situation.

Table of contents

 * Preface
 * Prologue: Who Killed Aramis?
 * 1) An Exciting Innovation
 * 2) Is Aramis Feasible?
 * 3) Shilly-Shallying in the Seventies
 * 4) Interphase: Three Years of Grace
 * 5) The 1984 Decision: Aramis Exists for Real
 * 6) Aramis at the CET Stage: Will it Keep its Promise?
 * 7) Aramis is Ready to Go (Away)
 * Epilogue: Aramis Unloved
 * Glossary