Description: Unpacks the political economy of new science and technology projects, and the implications for a utopian future.
Brief description:
Kate O'Riordan is a reader in digital media at the University of Sussex. She has authored or edited five books including The Genome Incorporated: Constructing Biodigital Identity.
Review Quotes: "The premise of this book is that objects orient us through our thinking and being in the world and not least through our practices of mediation. The objects in question are the promising but illusory objects of big technoscience, the smart grids, genomes and sensors that make big claims about saving lives, worlds and futures while serving somewhat narrower interests. In Unreal Objects, O'Riordan is not willing to take these objects at face value. She sets out to disorientate us, showing us how the reality of things is contingent and contestable, never losing sight of what is at stake."-- "Sarah Kember, Goldsmiths University"