Being Tethered in a Network of Interdependencies. Non-Human Entities in Visually Impaired Sports Performances Constituting Subjectivity

This chapter explores the potential of non-human actants in running performances of visually impaired athletes in Paralympic sports. With particular emphasis on the tether, a band connecting visually impaired runners and their guides, this chapter examines the extent to which binding elements in networks contribute to in:dependence and in what way connectedness is constitutive for it. The shift in understanding these collective performances specifically as in:dependent – despite their reliance on material devices and the senses of other people – structurally reflects the dialectical figure of the subject as subjected. Just as the subject is constituted through social discourse and thereby always already subjected, the performance of the visually impaired athlete is shaped by multiple factors that enable it in the first place. However, while subjectification does not negate agency – in fact, “the constituted character of the subject is the very precondition of its agency” – the material devices involved do not merely create networks of dependence; rather, they structurally participate in an analogous way as prerequisites for human autonomy. The tether not only serves as an actant as it prompts agency in concrete situations but also serves as a symbol for the general idea of being bound in and to interdependence.

Backhausen, Elena (2026). Being Tethered in a Network of Interdependencies. Non-Human Entities in Visually Impaired Sports Performances Constituting Subjectivity S. 13-32 in: Backhausen, E./Kreuser, M./Wihstutz, B. (Hg.): Independence and Collectivity. Configurations of Dis/ability Performance. London/New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003617990-3