About the network
The Expectations Network was established
in 2002 to explore the 'dynamics of expectations' in science and technology
and draws on contributions from a growing number of scholars in innovation
studies, Science and Technology Studies, economics and sociology.
For the Network, expectations are seen
to be fundamentally decisive in shaping the fortunes of new and old
technologies. Novel technological fields (like stem cells, nanotechnologies,
etc) often rely heavily on visionary claims of future potential. As
such fields 'mature' over time, it becomes apparent that early hypes
are often vastly disproportionate to eventual outcomes.
The Network seeks to better understand
these dynamics of promise-making, enrolment, and the way expectations
become (or not) embedded in the materialities of science and technology.
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Key areas of interest:
- The dissemination and circulation of
expectations through various avenues of media, research patronage, etc.
- The history of expectations and their
relationships to present day expectations of future change.
- The role of future oriented motifs (hopes,
promises, commitments, breakthrough announcements, etc) in agenda building.
- The relationship between expectations
and the temporalities or timeframes of science and technology.
- The 'situatedness of expectations' in
terms of how expectations differ between different groups (policy makers,
research scientists, consumers, etc).
Link
to a bibliography of literature on the dynamics of expectations
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