In this book, the eminent French sociologist Bruno Latour challenges our understanding of society and the “social.” He shows why the social cannot be thought of as a kind of material or as a certain sphere, and calls into question the very project of a “social explanation” of any other state of affairs. Although this earlier project was productive and perhaps necessary in the past, it is now almost stopped, and in part due to the progress of the social sciences. At the current stage of their development, it is no longer possible to carefully reconsider the components that make up the field of the social. The author redefines the concept of the social, returning to its original meaning in order to make it again capable of tracing connections. This should allow a return to the traditional goal of the social sciences, but with tools more appropriate to it. After extensive work on the "assemblages" of nature, the author shows what is "assembled" under the shadow of society and argues that this is the only way to remain true to the old commitments of sociology, that "science of living together." This approach has become widely known as actor-network theory, and this book serves as an indispensable introduction for those seeking to understand the theory or the ideas of one of its leading exponents. from English I. Polonskaya; edited by S. Gavrilenko.