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Abstract

This article centers around the two foundational notions of Bruno Latour’s Actor-Network theory, i.e., translation and composition.It seeks to highlight the analytical potential of these concepts for analyzing literary texts, cultural practices, and discursive formations. Based upon the presumption that the presence of nonhuman actants needs recognition, this article argues that it is the composites that act. To argue for this position, this article makes use of historical transformation of the traditions such as the Turban and Horse exchange. What is endorsed, in turn, is that culture, far from being autonomous or fixed, results from material entanglements and negotiations amongst diverse actants - all of whom are not humans. To sum up, with the help of selected excerpts of Punjabi literature, authors intend to stress that culture and art forms are inextricably connected to the material conditions of existence. What matters, henceforth, is to focus on details.