Coleman, Rebecca. 2017. Developing speculative methods to explore speculative shipping: Mail art, futurity and empiricism. In: Alex Wilkie; Martin Savransky and Marsha Rosengarten, eds. Speculative Research: The Lure of Possible Futures. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781138688360 [Book Section]

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Abstract or Description

The chapter discusses a visual sociology project that draws on the artistic practice of mail art to put into play different approaches to speculation. It focuses on a recent patent by Amazon.com for ‘speculative shipping’ where goods are shipped to potential customers in advance of order. It develops a speculative methodology to explore, and perhaps intervene in, how speculative shipping closes down the uncertainty of the future through commercialisation. It suggests that speculative methodologies might be able to open up futurity through engaging surprise, novelty and potentiality, and reflects on the questions raised by such a speculative approach.

Item Type:	Book Section
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Sociology
Dates:	Date Event 22 February 2017 Published
Item ID:	17820
Date Deposited:	22 Apr 2016 14:18
Last Modified:	05 Feb 2018 12:03
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/17820

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