Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
BY ELLA DILKES-FRAYNE
into mediating relations with other actors such that they gen-
erate transformations in those acted upon. This transformation
could change the form and attributes of an actor, its agency, or
capacity to act, or invite it into acting and generating media-
tions in others. As Latour (2005) notes, rather than an actor
being seen as a source of initiative or a starting point (p.
216), an actor is what is made to act by many others (p. 46).
Actors are thus both mediating and mediated, gaining their
ability to act in particular ways through their associations with
other actors. In this way, action is never attributable to any sin-
gle actor; action becomes collective, the result of a chain of
mediations involving numerous entities.
are all actors seen to have the same kind of agency or act with
the same intensity (Sayes, 2014). Nonhumans do not exercise
agency in the precise senses in which humans do (Sayes,
2014, p. 144), even though human action and agency are
regarded as the result of collective mediation involving actors
that are not only human. I return to this notion of the human
and nonhuman in the following section in relation to the prin-
ciple of symmetry in generating accounts of events. For now it
is important to note that the inclusion of both human and non-
human actors in the examination of mediation relations is par-
ticularly useful for the exploration of the role of spaces, drugs,
people, and so on, in the collective generation of the agencies
and action involved in drug use.
Drug use
as event
The event of drug use is characterized here as a process of suc-
cessive mediations, generating a series of transformations and
actions including drug use. In the event, the relations that col-
lectively generate drug use arise, come together for a time in
shifting configurations, and fall apart. Rather than an act of
Latham (2004) notes that even when participant diaries are not
particularly comprehensive, they enable an in-depth discussion
of activities, encounters, and contextual features that are often
considered too routine, trivial or taken for granted to be men-
tioned in formal interviews. They therefore facilitate reflection
upon, and examination of, time-space relations and change,
and so provide resources for participants and researchers to
productively work through detailed situations and encounters.
This process enabled participants to be more engaged in tracing
and generating accounts than in-depth interviews alone, and
facilitated the generation of detailed accounts that included a
broad array of actors.
ticipants. Care was taken so that the diary format did not
delimit the boundaries of the event or account. Participants
were not specifically told at what point diaries should begin or
end, and the boundaries of the event were explored in the fol-
low-up interviews and data analysis by questioning the points
at which the most significant mediations relating to drug use in
the event occurred.
Buying a ticket While being in the festival grounds may ordinarily be consid-
ered the time and place in which a festivals characteristics may
act on its attendees, the festivals characteristics mediated
Michaels actions long before the day of the festival or his con-
sideration of MDMA use. These mediations set in motion a
series of actions that continued through the day of the festival.
This summer music festival had been running for several years,
incorporating different genres of electronic dance music, and
hosting approximately 50,000 young people. Having attended a
number of similar festivals in the past, Michael had decided
that [hed] had enough of festivals and ... wasnt going to any
more (interview excerpt). At past festivals, he had found the
large crowds to be drunk, aggressive, and not interested in the
music; the music sets to be too short; the presence of police
sniffer dogs to be unsettling; and it had been difficult to stick
with groups of friends over the duration of the day. These
engagements with past festivals generated his disinterest in
attending future festivals; he wanted to listen to music while
being with friends and in some cases take MDMA. This seemed
to be incompatible with the festival format.
MDMA enters
the event
Michael had been to a number of festivals in the past. At some
of these he had taken MDMA; at others he had not. The possi-
bility for MDMA use at this festival arose within the specific
relations of this event, as many factors came together prior to
the festival day to present the opportunity for the specific use
of one capsule of MDMA.
I asked Michael what had led to him having MDMA at the fes-
tival: Uh that [music act] was playing, and that I had the
stuff available, or that I still had some [left over]. Here, the
opportunity, desire, and ability to take MDMA at this festival
were generated in the coming together of the inclusion of a
particular music act, Michaels past enjoyment of taking MDMA
while seeing electronic music acts, and the availability of MDMA
on this occasion.
having only one cap precluded him from offering a cap to his
friend, as he had on past occasions, leading him to take it
alone. Additionally, had his stash contained something other
than this cap, LSD or speed for example, his options for use
would have been different. That he only had one cap at this
dose, combined with his lack of other purchasing options,
mediated his dosing options. He could have taken half, been
given more, or combined it with alcohol or other drugs.
However, these modifications were not necessary; at previous
events over the summer Michael had enjoyed caps from this
batch at similar doses, and was seeking to produce similar
effects in this event. Crucially, Michael assumed that the caps
that he bought were all made in the same batch. This enabled
him to consider the dosing and the effects of this cap to be rel-
atively stable, such that he could at least hope that this cap
would have a similar chemical consistency and relatively sim-
ilar effects to those he had taken previously. However, as many
participants in this research attested, this is a precarious stabil-
ity. Michael attempted to control this in order to produce an
event with enjoyable results, hoping that the MDMA would
not bring on negative feelings or no noticeable effects at all.
Ultimately, however, Michael would have to wait and see what
effects would be generated in this event.
Entering the
festival site
On the day of the festival, the site opened and the first acts
began at 12:00 p.m. Michael met his friend at a central railway
station to eat and travel to the festival site together, arriving at
around 2:00 p.m. The situation produced by Michael carrying
MDMA meant, however, that entering the festival became a
concern. The timetable showed the music act to be playing in
the final time slot of the evening. This timetabling, combined
with Michaels desire to be feeling the strongest MDMA
effects during the acts show, and the expected time between
MDMA consumption and the onset of these effects, meant that
melt into the wax or he may swallow it; it was only designed
to last the time it took him to get through the entrance. Once
he had entered the festival the police and dogs became less of
a concern because they were less likely to be patrolling there
(although he recognized that this remained a possibility).
Before
MDMA use
Over five hours passed between Michael entering the festival
and taking the MDMA. While Michael said that not much hap-
pened during this time, it was a major portion of his day and,
as becomes apparent, crucial to his enjoyment of the festival.
ELLA: What happened between that time when you arrived
and when you dropped [took the MDMA]?
MICHAEL: Yeah, we just chilled out at one stage for most of the
day, um I dont know, had an energy drink or something, and
yeah that was pretty much it. [...] We were just going to hang
out at the one stage during the day, because that was where
most of the acts we thought wed like were, and then my friend
wanted to see one or two other things as well so I just went
with him and saw those.
The festival site was laid out such that there were multiple
indoor and outdoor stages of varying sizes, playing different
genres of music. As a result of timetabling of acts at various
stages, and his friends similar tastes, Michael was able to see
acts from a genre of music that he enjoyed without moving
around the festival site too much or having to engage with the
Time and
place of
Michael wrote in his diary that he ended up taking the MDMA
consumption
at around 7:15pm. We discussed what led him to this particu-
lar consumption time:
ELLA: What was happening at that time that made you think
that was a good time to do it?
MICHAEL: [Laughs] I think I had a little debate with my friend
and sort of did a little maths and counting back [...]
ELLA: So what was it you were counting back from?
MICHAEL: Oh, when [music act] was going to start.
[I]t was in plain view but I dont think anyone was looking at a
grass bank on the side, like the stages are everyones probably
looking at the stage. So I mean if someone had been specifically
looking at me they might have wondered what I was doing, but I
wasnt overly concerned, yeah ... If it was anyone that was at the
festival [looking] I dont think they would really care, and uh Im
not even sure they would know what it was. The closest person was
two, three meters away, yeah. If Id seen the police or security I
might have waited a minute.
While the grassy bank was in plain view, being in view was
not a concern because of the activity, characteristics, density
of the crowd, and the layout of the stage in relation to the bank.
The crowds attention was drawn away from the bank towards
the stage, and no one was too close. And besides, if any peo-
ple attending the festival chanced upon seeing him taking the
cap they would either be oblivious or unconcerned about the
sight of someone swallowing a capsule. The only people he
was concerned about were police or security, who would be
more likely to act negatively toward Michael if they saw his
cap. However, because of their transitory attention and move-
ment through the space, avoiding them was simple.
Coming up
and peaking
After consumption, the MDMA and its mediations were trans-
formed; no longer a cap in a pocket, it became something with
a different action and form, as yet uncertain. However, the way
it acted on and transformed Michaels feelings, actions, and
Thus MDMA did not simply act alone to produce the feeling
of coming up. When he was on the ground, Michael found it
hard to tell whether he was feeling the effects, which was an
experience he recognizsed from previous events of use. He
knew he would have to act to change his relations with his sur-
roundingshis bodily position, the perceptual stimuli he was
receivingto know whether its done anything or not. Until
that point the MDMA could still have been a dudhad no
effector been something unexpected. The time here became
important: It had been sort of long enough for him to expect
that the MDMA would have made him feel different.
Through moving from his prone position he was able notice
it, that something had changed within him. This highlights
Main act
mosh pit
At around 7:50 p.m. Michael and his friend walked over to dif-
ferent arena to get good place to see closing act (diary excerpt).
We spoke about why it was important to get a good place:
ELLA: Where were you aiming for? What did you want?
MICHAEL: Ah, right up the front, just to be able to see them I guess.
ELLA: Like to actually be able to see the band
MICHAEL: Yeah yeah.
ELLA: Because if you were further back
MICHAEL: Yeah, definitely, as a short person [laughs]
ELLA: Ok so there would be people in your view
MICHAEL: Yeah I guess theres a different vibe right up the
front as well, everyone else whos made the effort to get up
there is probably really keen as well.
Uh mmm yeah I guess you might feel a little bit more con-
nected with the people around you in a moshpit just because its so
intimate and that. And then just that its a lot more intense, like you
have to be aware of what youre doing, you cant be out of it,
whereas if youre in a club setting you can be off in your own little
world and thats not gonna matter.
The set continued for an hour and a half. During this time
Michael was pushed very close to the front barrier, where
because of the crowd density, his ability to move was severely
restricted. At that point he grew tired of the mosh pit, but he
was soon released when the act finished. The relations evident
here highlight the collective generation of the transformations
and actions of Michael, the MDMA, and the mosh pit space
(generated through the crowd, the music act, and the equipment
and layout of the stage space). The effect each had on the oth-
ers was produced by the particular way they all came together.
Going home The act finished at 10:15pm and with the conclusion of the
music timetabling, the festival cleared out pretty quickly
(Michael, interview excerpt). He waited to get some water and
to find his friend. Once they were re-united, they walked to the
train station to catch the train to the city. According to
Michael, he was no longer peaking, the MDMA was now
generating different feelings in him, such that he was still
going but coming down (Michael, diary excerpt). He and his
Reflecting
on a good
Michael wrote that he and his friend had agreed all up had a
festival
good day and it was the best festival wed been to in ages
(diary excerpt). While my primary interest above was in Michaels
MDMA use and how it was generated in this event, it was not
only his MDMA use that might see this festival as a mediator of
future MDMA use or his attendance at future festivals. I asked
Michael to expand on what makes for a good festival:
I dont know as long as the crowds good and not really hostile at
all, and as long as you can get around to see the acts that you want
to see without having to queue up for everything and that sort of
thing, I guess that makes it good, and then I guess just the acts ...
[this festival] was just more chilled out and I was able to just enjoy
the music a bit more ... the stage we wanted to hang out at was less
busy, and probably because we werent drinking actually.
MDMA use didnt feature in the account he gave for why this fes-
tival had been so good, or for what makes for a good festival expe-
rience. A good crowd, good music, and being able to chill out
enough to enjoy it, were more important to generate an enjoyable
festival. Michaels movements, engagement, and enjoyment were
facilitated, in part, during this event by his ease in getting around
and the timetabling of the acts. These engagements were also
afforded by the transformations the MDMA generated in him, and
in how his use of it facilitated his avoidance of alcohol and the
queuing and ill-effects he had experienced from drinking alcohol
at past festivals. His MDMA use didnt interfere with any ele-
ments that made this festival enjoyable; rather it heightened his
enjoyment of one of his favorite music acts.
Discussion
Event and
context
Tracing events provides a way of identifying how factors often
attributed to broad social and cultural contexts become active
in generating particular kinds of use and non-use events. If we
were to take a conventional approach to social or cultural con-
text, we may find a number of partially connected, overlapping
broader contexts in which Michael could be said to sit. These
may include the political and policy climate in relation to illic-
it drugs in Australia, mainstream or subcultural electronic
music scenes, normalization of the use of some illicit drugs
among young people, and so on. These contexts could be said
to exert a structural force, acting over Michael, constraining
and limiting his agency (Latour, 2005). While elements of
these processes certainly feature in the account presented here,
ular features may have multiple effects when they become part
of multiple events and sets of relations. Thus, the agency of
contexts is multiple. This has important implications for the
design of interventions seeking to modify such spaces, as it
requires that we remain sensitive to the multiple effects such
interventions generate. Reconciling this multiplicity in terms
of singular policy objectives concerning drug use (abstinence,
for example) is likely to remain a challenge for prevention and
harm reduction policy and practice. Nevertheless, in moving
beyond the singularity and stasis implied in context towards
the temporality, dynamism and multiplicity captured in
event we see a richer picture of what goes into shaping spe-
cific events of drug use.
Generating
events
An events analysis sees harm not as a property inhering in a
for harm
particular substance, person or environment; rather, the poten-
reduction
tial for harm arises in the unfolding relations of the event,
whereby numerous actors come together in a way that gener-
ates harmful transformations (see also Duff, 2014).
Approaching drug use and harm in this way presents opportu-
nities for considering how we might enable, foster, and rein-
force relations that may produce less harmful drug-use events,
or the positive production of alternatives to harm.
we are able to examine the agencies that may produce the con-
ditions in which, and thus enable the means through which,
various actors are able and willing to generate events consis-
tent with harm reduction. Transformations to events, however,
need not only be effected through people; they may also be
generated through mediating drugs, places, objects, and so on.
Questions for harm reduction then become: How might we
produce, reinforce or avoid interrupting the generation of less
harmful events of drug use; what agencies may be introduced
or stabilized in order to foster particular kinds of events; how
might we trigger new competencies, actions, effects and trans-
formations in drug use events; and how might we set up the
conditions in which things have a chance to act differently (see
also Gomart, 2002)? These questions raise opportunities for
acting in ways that are generative of alternatives to harm,
rather than simply attempting to limit action, remove actors, or
instruct them to act otherwise. While research addressing these
kinds of questions is taking place in the area of injecting drug
use (e.g., the modification of objects in Fraser, 2013; spaces in
Malins, Fitzgerald, & Threadgold, 2006; space-times in Fraser,
2006; object-spaces in Vitellone, 2010), it is far less common
with regard to young peoples recreational illicit drug use.
Examining different kinds of events may yet produce benefits
for exploring the ways in which young peoples drug use may
be tuned towards less harmful outcomes.
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