SOCIOTECHNICAL PERFORMATIVITY IN THE CREATIVE SPACE WORKSHOPS AT THE FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF PARAÍBA

Abstract

This qualitative study examines how creative workshops at the Central Library on Federal University of Paraiba are constituted through sociotechnical networks that entangle human and non-human actors, producing performative effects on teaching-learning and information mediation practices. Grounded in sociomateriality and Actor-Network Theory, we conducted participant observation in two workshops ([collage] and [watercolor]), and analyzed operational records and produced artifacts. Guided by the “follow-the-actors” principle, findings show that performativity emerges from contingent alignments among people, materials (paper, inks, tools), spatial arrangements, and informational artifacts (records, regulations, social media). We identify: a) materials invite and constrain action; b) space mediates belonging and collaboration; c) information infrastructures stabilize associations and extend outreach; and d) women’s participation in organizing and authoring sustains innovative routines, aligning with SDG 4 (Quality Education). University libraries, as hybrid environments, can strengthen educational and outreach practices by recognizing and managing the sociotechnical networks that sustain everyday innovation.