Dynamic hybrids and the geographies of technoscience: discussing conceptual resources beyond the human/non-human binary

This paper discusses the nature of (post)-human and (post)-natural worlds by examining the types of entities responsible for knowledge production in contemporary technoscience. Based upon a case study in high-energy physics and a constructive critical engagement with actor-network thought in science studies and geography, a complex trinity of geographically relevant actants is developed and discussed as a conceptual resource for studying geographies of human–environment relations beyond reductionist dualisms such as subject/object, nature/society and human/non-human. At the heart of the suggested trinity of actants lies the notion of ‘dynamic hybrids’ that identifies humans, other organisms and certain machines as decisive nodes between material and immaterial spaces of scientific network-building. The paper concludes by assessing how the suggested conceptual moves may affect the analysis and critique of scientific practice. It is pointed out that the proposed conceptual resources are not trying to establish new boundaries in order to contribute to a better understanding of science and its varying geographies, but to keep the categories we use in motion.