Deleuze's "Assemblage"

 

In Deleuze and Guattari's work, the concept of "assemblage" deals with the interplay between structure and change, organization and contingency. The term "assemblage" translates from the French word "agencement," which refers to the process of arranging or fitting together rather than a static arrangement. An assemblage is not merely a predetermined set of parts assembled into a predefined structure, nor is it a random collection of things. Instead, it is a dynamic whole that expresses some identity and claims a territory.

 

To understand the concept of assemblage, we can look at how it's used in various fields. In geology, for example, it refers to a group of fossils that characterize a particular stratum, showing a contingent arrangement of elements expressing a specific character. Similarly, in archaeology and ecology, an assemblage represents a collection of heterogeneous elements sharing a common habitat.

 

An assemblage includes diverse elements brought together in specific relations, expressing qualities, affects, and effectivity. Deleuze and Guattari emphasize that we don't fully understand an assemblage until we see what it can do, how it functions. Assemblages select elements from their surroundings and organize them in a particular way, converging naturally and artificially to form a veritable invention.

 

For example, Deleuze and Guattari describe a scene from Freud's work involving a child observing a horse pulling an omnibus. This scene is considered an assemblage, comprising the horse, the omnibus, and the street, as well as various active and passive affects circulating within the context of the individuated assemblage. These affects, such as being whipped or falling, demonstrate what the horse "can do" within the assemblage.

In Deleuze and Guattari's framework, "assemblages" are dynamic formations that create territories rather than just occupying space. Territories, like homes or personal identities, express a claim and stake in a particular space or arrangement of elements. They are continuously made and unmade, undergoing processes of territorialization and deterritorialization.

 

Consider the example of "home" as an assemblage. Home is not simply a physical space but a continual attempt to create comfort and familiarity through the arrangement of objects, practices, and feelings. Even transient spaces like an airline seat or a stroll in the neighborhood can become a form of home through personalization and comfort-seeking behaviors.

 

Similarly, personal identities can be understood as assemblages composed of various traits and qualities that express a particular form of identity. These traits, such as clothing or demeanor, constitute an identity-assemblage that can be recognized and understood by others, even if specific elements are absent or different.

 

Assemblages are less about fixed objects and qualities and more about lines and speeds, including patterns of behavior, habits, and rhythms. They also encompass systems of signs and meanings, known as collective assemblages of enunciation, which include discourses, words, and non-corporeal relations.

 

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Entering into an assemblage involves adopting its particular relations of speed, effectivity, and language, rather than merely imitating its outward appearance. This process of becoming allows individuals to embody the qualities and affects associated with a particular assemblage.

 

In this section, I aim to explore how the concept of assemblage can offer new insights into the relationship between humans and technology, a key topic in technology studies. Traditional approaches to this relationship tend to oversimplify the complexity involved. By examining three common perspectives (the received view, the contextual view, and the view of articulation) using the example of the mobile telephone, I will demonstrate how the concept of assemblage can provide a more nuanced understanding.

 

The first perspective, known as "the received view of culture and technology," sees humans and technology as distinct entities that interact with each other. According to this view, technologies are considered external tools separate from humans. Debates often arise regarding whether technologies control humans (technological determinism) or vice versa (social determinism). When studying technologies like mobile phones from this perspective, researchers focus on the development of the technology itself and its impact on society, viewing mobile phones as discrete objects with their own identities.

 

The second perspective suggests that we should examine technologies within their social contexts. Technologies are seen as embedded in society, shaping and being shaped by human interactions. Researchers like Philip Howard argue for an embedded media perspective, emphasizing how communication tools are integrated into daily life. This approach acknowledges the interplay between human agency and technological affordances but still maintains a separation between humans and technologies.

 

For example, studying the use of mobile phones among teenagers involves understanding how they utilize various features for communication, social interaction, and entertainment. While this perspective highlights the integration of technology into everyday life, it still treats the mobile phone as a distinct entity introduced into the social context.

 

Third  perspective on the relationship between humans and technology is the concept of articulation. Articulation refers to the connection or disconnection of different elements to form identities or unities. For example, think of an articulated lorry, where different cabs can be connected to different trailers, resulting in different trucks each time. Jennifer Slack suggests that context, which is often seen as a theoretical problem, should be viewed as constitutive of technology and vice versa. In this model of articulation, the context shapes the technology and is shaped by it, and technologies cannot be separated from their context.

 

Articulations are historically contingent and require power to make, sustain, transform, and break connections between elements. This applies to both technology and human identities. Looking at the study of mobile phones from an articulation perspective raises questions about how mobile phone technology has been connected to various functions, discourses, populations, ideologies, and policies. Unlike the previous perspectives, articulation emphasizes the contingent connections between elements.

 

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Comparing articulation to assemblage, we find similarities and differences. Assemblages involve heterogeneous parts forming provisional wholes, including qualities, affects, and flows of agency. While articulation focuses on contingent connections, assemblage also considers territorialization and expression. For instance, considering the example of mobile phones, an assemblage perspective would examine the combination of thumb-key software and transmission, highlighting how the hand becomes the phone and vice versa. This perspective also considers the cultural aspects, such as how mobile phones are referred to in different contexts and their impact on behavior and space. Assemblages are dynamic arrangements of elements with their own patterns of movement and rest, constantly dispersing and reassembling in different configurations.

The concept of assemblage extends beyond individual instances to encompass broader, interconnected systems that operate across various sites and scales. Deleuze and Guattari emphasize that assemblages can form vast constellations, shaping cultures or entire eras. For instance, they cite Foucault's analysis of disciplinary mechanisms in prisons, highlighting how such systems are intertwined with other societal structures like education, workplaces, and hospitals.

 

Returning to the example of mobile phones, focusing solely on individual or group usage overlooks how these specific assemblages reflect broader functions or principles. Deleuze and Guattari describe these overarching principles as abstract machines. In the case of mobile phones, there's a concept akin to "mobile privatization," emphasizing mobility, autonomy, and individual empowerment within neoliberal contexts. This abstract machine informs various assemblages, including self-service systems and others.

 

Each assemblage is entered into locally, involving bodily actions, linguistic expressions, and collective enunciations. By engaging with these assemblages, individuals enact and are influenced by the abstract machine associated with them. Assemblages demonstrate how institutions, organizations, practices, and habits intersect and transform, creating and dismantling territories while opening or closing lines of flight.

 

Deleuze envisions a shift towards control societies characterized by continuous monitoring and communication, rather than physical confinement. He emphasizes the need to analyze collective apparatuses beyond individual machines, focusing on the assemblages we participate in and create. Resistance to control-assemblages requires vigilance at every moment, as new configurations of desire, machines, and statements emerge and challenge existing structures.