Mol 17: "How to do location work? The classic way is by relating to the literature that constitutes a disciplinary field. Thus: by relating to Freidson or Parsons I turn this text into medical sociology. Relating to Young is a way of making a connection with medical anthropology. In due course I'll have to put in some philosopher or other--maybe Canguilhem is a good idea--in order to pass as a medical philosopher."
"But there are so many other fields, places, literatures to relate to."
Also, 22-3: "Relating to the literature may be a way of situating one's own text among others, which tends to be helpful to most readers. It may be a way to sketch the ancestry one is shaped by and the elders one seeks to depart from, and these may or may not be the same. For all of these purposes it is best to relate to literature that has some authority. If I relate to Parsons, advanced readers are more likely to get at what I'm trying to do, for they know Parsons. And novice readers are well served as well, for they will have to get to know Parsons sooner or later if they ever want to be taken seriously. If I import Strathern my text becomes stronger, for whoever wants to argue against my playing around with the nature/culture divide now has to argue with her as well--and she's written a lot about it. But how do authors ever acquire authority? Answer: by being related to. It is a circle."