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The Return of the Nonhuman: The Reproduction of Anthropocentrism in Social Theory
Södertörn University, School of Natural Sciences, Technology and Environmental Studies, Media Technology.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3885-5915
Linköping University, Sweden.
2026 (English)In: European Journal of Social Theory, ISSN 1368-4310, E-ISSN 1461-7137Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

Despite decades of critique, anthropocentrism continues to shape the conceptual foundations of social theory. While numerous approaches have sought to unsettle the human as the privileged locus of action, relevance, and meaning, less attention has been paid to the mundane conditions under which anthropocentric assumptions are practically reproduced in theoretical work itself. This article examines how anthropocentrism persists through recurring descriptive tendencies rather than through explicit theoretical commitments. Drawing on insights from science and technology studies, we analyse five descriptive tendencies through which anthropocentrism is routinely accomplished: the separation of worlds, the characterisation of entities, the assignment of abilities, the ordering of relations, and the attribution of agency. For such an important task, we need subtle reflexive attention to the ways in which discourse enacts and constrains foundational assumptions about entity and agency. Perhaps such steps can help us ‘rewright’ the nonhuman in social theory?

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2026.
Keywords [en]
agency, Anthropocentrism, nonhuman, social theory, STS
National Category
Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-60540DOI: 10.1177/13684310261457899ISI: 001791429900001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105041547478OAI: oai:DiVA.org:sh-60540DiVA, id: diva2:2082670
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2021-01922Available from: 2026-07-01 Created: 2026-07-01 Last updated: 2026-07-01Bibliographically approved

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Dahlin, Emma

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

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Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • harvard-anglia-ruskin-university
  • apa-old-doi-prefix.csl
  • sodertorns-hogskola-harvard.csl
  • sodertorns-hogskola-oxford.csl
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf