A Beginner’s Guide To Agential Realism

Agential realism is a philosophy proposed by Karen Barad (2007) that provides a particular ontological, epistemological, and ethical basis for understanding the world. It is rooted in work done in quantum mechanics, science and technology studies, and feminist studies. It underpins a growing body of work in several fi elds such as education, sociology, and politics. In the information systems field, it has provided the philosophical basis for work done under the rubric of sociomateriality. While we believe agential realism provides important, novel insights, our experience is that coming to grips with its fundamental tenets is difficult. In this paper, therefore, we provide a beginner’s guide to agential realism to assist scholars who have little knowledge of it to understand it more quickly.