Introducing the Concept of Agency in Developmental Studies: Sociotechnical Arrangements

Abstract

The Yuzuru party, a group of female weavers, fostered its agency to bear responsibility for ensuring that the next generation learns hand-weaving skills in producing traditional Matsusaka cotton. Through interactive activities with people, objects, machinery, and other communities regarding Matsusaka cotton, Yuzuru members have reshaped their agency. Based on ethnographic research, this study describes the process of the collective formation of agency, shaped by the hybridization of Yuzuru group members and sociotechnical arrangements. This study demonstrates that diverse forms of human agency are only understood through the dynamics of continuous reshaping brought about by the development of collective activities along with the reconfiguration of sociotechnical arrangements. Moreover, introducing the concept of agency and sociotechnical arrangements for developmental studies makes it possible to describe and analyze the details of the interactions among people, objects, and machinery in relevant cases.