Rethinking the Spaces of Standardisation through the Concept of Site

Abstract

This paper proposes a site-based methodology for the study of standards and standardisation. Rather than consider standards as a global phenomenon, or theorise them as a network of relations, their spatiality is rethought as an outcome of their ongoing enactment. Both the moment of a standard’s implementation and its supporting apparatus are opened up to genealogical analysis using the work of feminist philosopher Karen Barad. In particular, her concepts of “apparatus” and “iteration” forge a link between the particularity of “site”, and the circulation and materialisation of standards. By following such an approach, a multitude of heterogeneous agencies are revealed, and with them, the potential for change.