Emergent Media Technologies, Speculation, Expectation, and Human/Nonhuman Relations

This article investigates sociological approaches to understanding visions of emergent media technologies in order to emphasize the importance of human/nonhuman relations in processes and products of cultural (re)production. Of particular concern is how anticipation and expectation around speculative or future-oriented design serve to mobilize individuals and publics that actively work in the present to create some futures and not others. The article concludes with a set of questions to guide the development of relevant research methodologies.