The essays in this volume discuss the various approaches to New Materialism in Sociology and
Philosophy. They raise the questions of what New Materialism consists of and whether it in fact
should be considered a radical change in Social Theory. Are the ideas of a material turn as
the theory is formulated and in its assumptions foreshadowed by the classical philosophies of
Spinoza and Tarde? Do these new approaches bring substantially new perspectives to Social
Theory? A further goal of these essays is to formulate the methodological and methodical
consequences for its empirical implementation. What conditions must an ethnography of things
fulfill if it is to be sufficient? Which participant objects and bodies do the approaches of
the various social theories and methodologies include or exclude?
