Practical Ontology: Worlds in STS and Anthropology

In this article, we engage in the question of whether we do or do not inhabit multiple worlds from the point of view of what we refer to as practical ontology - an amodem science and technology studies (STS) approach. On the one hand, this position is in close vicinity to anthropological ontologists. On the other hand, our approach entails a number of important differences from anthropological conceptions of ontology. Central among these differences is the understanding and attribution of agency and efficacy to materiality, the question of the role of informants' own conceptualizations of their practices, and the relations between ethnographic description, anthropological invention, and politics.