Desafiando el contexto: Apuntes a los debates contemporáneos sobre redes y escalas

TLDR: In this article, the authors synthesize, evaluate and critically broadens contemporary debates about the exercise of contextualization to understand the new challenges and possibilities that social research brings, through the concepts of operational-logic, make-scale and mereology.

Abstract: El presente escrito sintetiza, evalua y amplia criticamente los debates contemporaneos sobre el ejercicio de contextualizacion para comprender los nuevos desafios y posibilidades que acarrea la investigacion social. Para esta tarea, primero, se introduciran las ideas centrales de los Estudios Sociales de la Ciencia y la Tecnologia con la finalidad de comprender como el proceso de contextualizacion afecta directamente el objeto de estudio. Segundo, se senalara que este objeto posee un estatus ontologico emergente puesto que se deben redefinir constantemente las relaciones que lo componen. Tercero, se resaltaran las contribuciones de Marilyn Strathern a los debates anteriores por medio de sus reflexiones sobre las escalas. Por ultimo, mediante los conceptos de logicaperceptiva, hacer-escala y mereologia se sustentara que la ontologia, la epistemologia, la metodologia y la reflexividad se encuentran en una retroalimentacion permanente. Ademas, se resaltara que este vinculo implica reevaluar la posicion politica del investigador, la forma en que se entiende el trabajo de campo y el mundo no-humano. This paper synthesizes, evaluates and critically broadens contemporary debates about the exercise of contextualization to understand the new challenges and possibilities that social research brings. For this task, first, the central ideas of the Social Studies of Science and Technology will be introduced in order to comprehend how the contextualization process directly affects the object of study. Second, it will be noted that this object has an emerging ontological status since the relationships that compose it must be constantly redefined. Third, Marilyn Strathern’s contributions to the previous debates will be highlighted through her reflections on the scales. Finally, through the concepts of operational-logic, make-scale and mereology it will be sustained that ontology, epistemology, methodology and reflexivity are in permanent feedback. In addition, it will be emphasized that this link implies reevaluating the political position of the researcher, the way in which fieldwork and the non-human world are understood.