Social studies of technology and particularly the sociology of technology have long explored the reticulations between technology and social life. More specifically, the sociology of technology has contributed numerous studies addressing the relationship between technological artefacts and the social order. Following this tradition, feminist studies of technology have developed robust analyses of technology and subjectivity, with particular attention given to questions of gender identity. Additionally, recent work in technology studies has engaged with the problem of embodiment, both in terms of technological practice and with regard to the body as a consequential phenomenon in sociological enquiry. This thesis aims to further develop the sociological study of technological artefacts, subjects, and bodies through sociophilosophical analysis. By bringing to bear sociological methodology and theory upon fundamental questions in the philosophy of technology, this research elucidates and resolves problems relevant to both the philosophy and sociology of technology. Specifically, this thesis interrogates the manners and modalities in which technological artefacts, subjects, and bodies are rendered intelligible in social life. In doing so, it develops a symmetrical sociological analysis of these three phenomena and posits a robust solution to the question concerning ontology within the philosophy of technology. Here, I posit a conceptualization of technological artefacts, subjects, and bodies as artificial kinds entities underdetermined by materiality and ontologically dependent upon self referential social practice. I argue that in using Kusch’s concept of artificial kinds, we gain a useful perspective with which to discern the relationships between the ontological constitution of artefacts, the development of subject positions, and the social ‘situatedness’ of bodies and embodied practice. I also develop the concept of entangled ontologies, an analytic lens that highlights the dependence and interrelation that characterize the ontological constitution of artefacts, subjects, and bodies in social life. My analysis re-frames critical questions of technological ontology and illustrates the importance of fundamental philosophical problems to the sociological study of technology. In doing so, I am extending and amending the Performative Theory of Social Institutions - the social theory of the Strong Programme in the sociology of scientific knowledge. My theoretical project is supported by robust empirical work, which focuses on technological experience and motorcycling in Latin America. I carried out 36 in-depth qualitative interviews with a varied sample of motorcyclists in Costa Rica, and supplemented these with ethnographic observation. This empirical work contributed substantially to the development of my theoretical argument, and constitutes a considerable portion of the argument contained within this thesis. The three primary chapters - concerned with artefacts, subjects, and bodies, respectively - make substantial use of my empirical work throughout their analytic arguments, and each chapter contains an empirical component consisting of consolidated case material. The first - on artefacts - addresses heteronormativity in the constitution of artefact ontologies. The second - on subjects - discusses the role of age and ageing in the articulation of motorcycling subject positions. Last, the empirical material on bodies addresses the role of machinic and corporeal practices in the classification and ontological constitution of bodies. All three of these components represent original contributions to technology studies. Notably, sexuality and ageing arguably remain invisible phenomena to sociologists of technology. The empirical and analytic work contained within this thesis contributes substantially to a variety of fields. As I discuss in detail in my concluding chapter, my use of symmetrical sociophilosophical analysis presents feminist technology studies with new avenues for research, as well as new analytic tools with which to address questions of paramount importance. My use of Kusch’s artificial kinds allows for a reconsideration of constructivism in technology studies, and provides a resolution to the Woolgar, Grint, & Kling debate of the early 1990s. Finally, this research presents the philosophy of technology with a new approach to the question of technological ontology, and contributes meaningfully to contemporary efforts to develop a synergetic sociological-philosophical analysis of technology.

Yes / Gender archaeology has made significant strides toward deconstructing the hegemony of binary categorizations. Challenging dichotomies such as man/woman, sex/gender, and biology/culture, approaches informed by poststructuralist, feminist, and queer theories have moved beyond essentialist and universalist identity constructs to more nuanced configurations. Despite the theoretical emphasis on context, multiplicity, and fluidity, binary starting points continue to streamline the spectrum of variability that is recognized, often reproducing normative assumptions in the evidence. The contributors to this special issue confront how sex, gender, and sexuality categories condition analytical visibility, aiming to develop approaches that respond to the complexity of theory in archaeological practice. The papers push the ontological and epistemological boundaries of bodies, personhood, and archaeological possibility, challenging a priori assumptions that contain how sex, gender, and sexuality categories are constituted and related to each other. Foregrounding intersectional approaches that engage with ambiguity, variability, and difference, this special issue seeks to “de-contain” categories, assumptions, and practices from “binding” our analytical gaze toward only certain kinds of persons and knowledges, in interpretations of the past and practices in the present.

Esta tese pretende analisar a trajetória de mais de 70 anos de Sebastião Bernardes de Souza Prata, Grande Otelo (1917-1993). Por um ângulo, ela contribui para pensar diferentes momentos do cinema brasileiro, tendo em vista que o ator foi parte integrante do imaginário cinematográfico nacional dos anos 1930 aos 1990, em filmes da Cinédia e Sonofilmes, em Its all true projeto inacabado de Orson Welles no Brasil , em produções do realismo carioca, nas chanchadas da Atlântida, no Cinema Novo e no Cinema Marginal. Por outro ângulo, observar essa trajetória permite refletir sobre o modo como as relações raciais, suas intersecções com a questão de gênero e o próprio corpo dos artistas, negros ou brancos, são reinterpretados conforme a lógica do campo cinematográfico. O fio condutor da análise é uma equação complexa entre linhas de força que extrapolam esta lógica e mecanismos próprios ao cinema, usados para hierarquizar, diferenciar e desigualar intérpretes e escolas. Para empreendê-la, lança-se mão de conceitos, como estrutura de sentimentos da branquitude, estereótipos raciais e persona, e do exame interno dos filmes o que abre caminho para desvelar discursos cinematográficos racistas e estratégias antirracistas. O itinerário de Grande Otelo, assim, possibilita examinar o forte diálogo entre o imaginário racial hollywoodiano e sua tradução por empresas nacionais entre os anos 1930 e 1950, bem como representações alternativas do negro em Its all true, no realismo carioca e em Rio, Zona Norte, de Nelson Pereira dos Santos. Por contraste, o desaparecimento do ator nos primeiros filmes do Cinema Novo ilumina as perspectivas de Glauber Rocha e Carlos Diegues sobre o negro. Ambos os diretores elegem intérpretes com predicados corporais, fisionomias e performances de masculinidades diferentes de Grande Otelo, como Antonio Pitanga. O retorno de Otelo em Macunaíma, de Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, propicia discutir um momento reflexivo do cinema brasileiro, quando os impasses do Brasil se explicitam na reformulação de antigas figuras como o malandro e na interlocução renovada com o movimento negro, entre outros. Por fim, discute-se o aprofundamento de um diálogo interno nos filmes de Rogério Sganzerla e Júlio Bressane, que escalam Grande Otelo como testemunha histórica do cinema brasileiro. Logo, o ator prolífico viabiliza a reflexão, tanto sobre as relações raciais, em suas intersecções com a temática de gênero e corpo, quanto sobre o cinema no Brasil. / This dissertation analyzes the more than 70-year trajectory of the actor Sebastião Bernardes de Souza Prata, better known as Grande Otelo (1917-1993). From one angle, it contributes to the consideration of different moments of Brazilian cinema, taking into account that the actor was an integral part of the Brazilian cinematographic imaginary from the 1930s to the 1990s, in the films of Cinédia and Sonofilmes, in Its All True (the unfinished project of Orson Welles in Brazil), in productions of Rio de Janeiro (Carioca) Realism, in the chanchada films of Atlântida, in New Cinema (Cinema Novo), and in Marginal Cinema. From another angle, observing this trajectory allows for reflection on the manner in which race relations and their intersections with the question of gender and body of the artists, black or white are reinterpreted in accordance with the logic of the field of cinematography. The unifying thread of the analysis is a complex equation between force lines that surpass this logic and cinemas own mechanisms, used to differentiate, rank, and hierarchize actors and schools. In undertaking this, concepts employed include structure of feelings of whiteness, racial stereotypes and persona, and the internal examination of the films which opens a path for revealing racist cinematographic discourses as well as anti-racist strategies. The itinerary of Grande Otelo thus makes it possible to examine the strong dialogue between the racial imaginary of Hollywood and its translation by Brazilian companies between the 1930s and the 1950s, as well as alternative representations of black people in Its All True, in Carioca Realism, and in the film Rio, Zona Norte, by Nelson Pereira dos Santos. In contrast, the disappearance of the actor in the first films of New Cinema illuminates the perspectives of Glauber Rocha and Carlos Diegues on black people. Both directors chose actors with body structures, physionomies, and performances of masculinity different from those of Grande Otelo, such as Antonio Pitanga. The return of Otelo in Macunaíma, by Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, allows for a discussion of a reflexive moment in Brazilian cinema, in which the impasses of Brazil become explicit in the reformulation of old figures such as the malandro and in the renewed interlocution with the black movement, among others. Finally, the study discusses the deepening of an internal dialogue in the films of Rogério Sganzerla and Júlio Bressane, which make Grande Otelo a historical witness to Brazilian cinema. The prolific actor would then make possible reflection on race relations, in its intersections with the topics of gender and body, as well as on cinema in Brazil.

Esta tese pretende analisar a trajetória de mais de 70 anos de Sebastião Bernardes de Souza Prata, Grande Otelo (1917-1993). Por um ângulo, ela contribui para pensar diferentes momentos do cinema brasileiro, tendo em vista que o ator foi parte integrante do imaginário cinematográfico nacional dos anos 1930 aos 1990, em filmes da Cinédia e Sonofilmes, em Its all true projeto inacabado de Orson Welles no Brasil , em produções do realismo carioca, nas chanchadas da Atlântida, no Cinema Novo e no Cinema Marginal. Por outro ângulo, observar essa trajetória permite refletir sobre o modo como as relações raciais, suas intersecções com a questão de gênero e o próprio corpo dos artistas, negros ou brancos, são reinterpretados conforme a lógica do campo cinematográfico. O fio condutor da análise é uma equação complexa entre linhas de força que extrapolam esta lógica e mecanismos próprios ao cinema, usados para hierarquizar, diferenciar e desigualar intérpretes e escolas. Para empreendê-la, lança-se mão de conceitos, como estrutura de sentimentos da branquitude, estereótipos raciais e persona, e do exame interno dos filmes o que abre caminho para desvelar discursos cinematográficos racistas e estratégias antirracistas. O itinerário de Grande Otelo, assim, possibilita examinar o forte diálogo entre o imaginário racial hollywoodiano e sua tradução por empresas nacionais entre os anos 1930 e 1950, bem como representações alternativas do negro em Its all true, no realismo carioca e em Rio, Zona Norte, de Nelson Pereira dos Santos. Por contraste, o desaparecimento do ator nos primeiros filmes do Cinema Novo ilumina as perspectivas de Glauber Rocha e Carlos Diegues sobre o negro. Ambos os diretores elegem intérpretes com predicados corporais, fisionomias e performances de masculinidades diferentes de Grande Otelo, como Antonio Pitanga. O retorno de Otelo em Macunaíma, de Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, propicia discutir um momento reflexivo do cinema brasileiro, quando os impasses do Brasil se explicitam na reformulação de antigas figuras como o malandro e na interlocução renovada com o movimento negro, entre outros. Por fim, discute-se o aprofundamento de um diálogo interno nos filmes de Rogério Sganzerla e Júlio Bressane, que escalam Grande Otelo como testemunha histórica do cinema brasileiro. Logo, o ator prolífico viabiliza a reflexão, tanto sobre as relações raciais, em suas intersecções com a temática de gênero e corpo, quanto sobre o cinema no Brasil. / This dissertation analyzes the more than 70-year trajectory of the actor Sebastião Bernardes de Souza Prata, better known as Grande Otelo (1917-1993). From one angle, it contributes to the consideration of different moments of Brazilian cinema, taking into account that the actor was an integral part of the Brazilian cinematographic imaginary from the 1930s to the 1990s, in the films of Cinédia and Sonofilmes, in Its All True (the unfinished project of Orson Welles in Brazil), in productions of Rio de Janeiro (Carioca) Realism, in the chanchada films of Atlântida, in New Cinema (Cinema Novo), and in Marginal Cinema. From another angle, observing this trajectory allows for reflection on the manner in which race relations and their intersections with the question of gender and body of the artists, black or white are reinterpreted in accordance with the logic of the field of cinematography. The unifying thread of the analysis is a complex equation between force lines that surpass this logic and cinemas own mechanisms, used to differentiate, rank, and hierarchize actors and schools. In undertaking this, concepts employed include structure of feelings of whiteness, racial stereotypes and persona, and the internal examination of the films which opens a path for revealing racist cinematographic discourses as well as anti-racist strategies. The itinerary of Grande Otelo thus makes it possible to examine the strong dialogue between the racial imaginary of Hollywood and its translation by Brazilian companies between the 1930s and the 1950s, as well as alternative representations of black people in Its All True, in Carioca Realism, and in the film Rio, Zona Norte, by Nelson Pereira dos Santos. In contrast, the disappearance of the actor in the first films of New Cinema illuminates the perspectives of Glauber Rocha and Carlos Diegues on black people. Both directors chose actors with body structures, physionomies, and performances of masculinity different from those of Grande Otelo, such as Antonio Pitanga. The return of Otelo in Macunaíma, by Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, allows for a discussion of a reflexive moment in Brazilian cinema, in which the impasses of Brazil become explicit in the reformulation of old figures such as the malandro and in the renewed interlocution with the black movement, among others. Finally, the study discusses the deepening of an internal dialogue in the films of Rogério Sganzerla and Júlio Bressane, which make Grande Otelo a historical witness to Brazilian cinema. The prolific actor would then make possible reflection on race relations, in its intersections with the topics of gender and body, as well as on cinema in Brazil.

This diploma thesis describes the phenomenon of fitness through the gender perspective. The research took place in the environment of a particular fitness center. The space of the gym and the visitors' behavior were observed through the participating observation and semi- structured interviews. It was explored how a specific activity helps to form the identity of the trainees and how the relationships between them are created. This thesis analysis the rules according to which people behave in the given environment of the gym. It represents the gym as an environment that preserves the dominant concepts of masculinities and femininities on the one hand, but on the other hand visitors of the gym are allowed to disrupt the gender order by non-stereotypical behavior in certain situations. It was found out that attending a fitness center affects and disciplines the lives of trainees outside the gym.