On September 25th and 26th, a workshop on operational chains will be held in the Auditorium of the Image and Sound Laboratory in Anthropology (LISA). The activity will be led by Ludovic Coupaye (University College London) and is restricted to researchers from the Metis and CHAMA research groups. The workshop aims to explore the notion of operational chains in anthropological work conducted in different contexts. The intention is to address the benefits and limitations of the method, as well as the analytical and theoretical contributions brought by the anthropology of techniques to anthropological debates and social issues. Through theoretical discussions and practical activities, workshop participants will graphically present how operational chains function in their various fields of research.
Schedule
September 25 (Thursday)
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM: Introductory lecture on the Chains of Operation method and the anthropology of techniques
After a brief recap of the history of how technical activities have been documented, we will examine the emergence of the concept of chains of operations from Marcel Mauss's initial push for an anthropological approach to techniques. We will then explore their different definitions in archaeology and anthropology, before presenting their main components.
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM: Preparatory workshop for the use of Chains of Operation
In this workshop, we will prepare participants for the documentation of technical activities. Through a combination of presentation and question-and-answer session, we will discuss the points presented in the previous lecture and analyze examples of chains of operations developed by students and researchers.
Afternoon and Evening: Documenting a Technical Activity
At home or in another safe and convenient location, participants will individually document a brief technical activity using the elements mentioned throughout the day.
September 26 (Friday)
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM: Graphic Construction of Operational Chains
Participants will use their notes to graphically represent the steps of the documented technical activity, creating their Operational Chains. They will then post the material on the Padlet platform, presented by the instructor.
1:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Presentation and Methodological Discussion
This session will be dedicated to the analysis and discussion of the Operational Chains published on Padlet. We will identify the main anthropological themes that the activity allows us to address and examine how the method helps us discuss them empirically. We will then address the benefits and limitations of the method, concluding with a reflection on the analytical and theoretical contributions made by the anthropology of techniques to anthropological debates and social issues.
References
"FP 01. The Operational Chain," Techniques & Culture [Online], Supplements to the Numbers, published online June 11, 2019, accessed August 30, 2023. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/tc/11410; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/tc.11410
Bray, Francesca. 2020. Thinking with Diagrams: The Operational Chain and the Transmission of Technical Knowledge in Chinese Agricultural Texts. East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal, 14(2): 199-223.
Coupaye, Ludovic. 2009b. "Ways of Enchanting: Chaînes Opératoires and Yam Cultivation in Nyamikum Village, Maprik, Papua New Guinea". Journal of Material Culture, 14(4): 433–458.
Coupaye, Ludovic. 2022c. “Making ‘Technology’ Visible: Technical Activities and the Chaîne Opératoire”, in The Anthropology of Technology: A Handbook, edited by Maja Hojer Bruun & Ayo Wahlberg. New York: Palgrave Handbooks.
Dobrès, Marcia-Anne. 1999. “Technology’s Links and Chaînes: The Procedural Unfolding of Techniques and Technician.” In The Social Dynamics of Technology, edited by Marcia-Anne Dobrès & Christopher R. Hoffman. Washington & London, Smithsonian Institution Press: 124-146.
Knappett, Carl. 2012. “Network of Objects, Meshworks of Things. In Redrawing Anthropology: Materials, Movements, Lines, edited by Tim Ingold. London: Ashgate Publishing: 45-64.
Lemonnier, Pierre, 1992. "From field to files: description and analysis of technical phenomena", in Elements for an anthropology of technology, Pierre Lemonnier. Ann Arbor, Mich: Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan: 25-50.
Lemonnier, Pierre. 1986. “The study of material culture today: toward an anthropology of technical systems.” Journal of Anthropological Archeology 5(2): 147–86.
Leroi-Gourhan, André. 1971[1943]. Evolution et Techniques I: L'Homme et la Matière. Paris: Albin Michel. (Selection of texts translated in Schlanger ed. 2025)
Leroi-Gourhan, André. 1973[1945]. Evolution et Techniques II: Milieu et techniques. Paris: Albin Michel. (Selection of texts translated in Schlanger ed. 2025)
Leroi-Gourhan, André. 1993[1964]. Gesture and Speech. Cambridge (Mass.): M.I.T. Press.
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