The flying body : wie Körper und Dinge sich gegenseitig und eine Flugreise hervorbringen

Bodies and things are central dimensions of the “ materiality of the social“, yet they are mostly investigated in different lines of discourse. How can we study these dimensions in one perspective? How do bodies and things 'collaborate' in social processes and ‘become’ together? This contribution tackles these questions based on an empirical study on air travel. In the course of a journey by airplane, bodies and things become relevant in different forms. They have to be gathered and assembled to a mobile formation at the day of travel. At the airport, this formation is decomposed again and subjected to different inspections. In the aircraft, bodies are held still by being 'parked' in the seats like things. Especially when bodies behave recalcitrantly, it becomes evident that this is a demanding accomplishment. 'Flying bodies' are fluid formations of bodies and things that are brought into being situational and change repeatedly in the course of the travel.