New materialism, object-oriented ontology and fictive imaginaries: new directions in energy research

Abstract

This paper takes up the challenge set down by the review work of Hess and Sovacool (2020) and Sovacool et al. (2020) and joins the conversation about future research agendas where STS is aligned towards humanities and social science research of energy solutions. We identified two under-representations in these review papers: 1) New materialism and object-oriented ontological (OOO) approaches and 2) how fictive imaginaries develop the link between OOO and public engagement with energy challenges. We propose that ontology of objects and non-human worlds is central to cocreation work in energy research where there exist assemblages of the Anthropocene. We argue that an ethical, engaged, object-oriented ontology that links with fictive imaginaries is crucial whichever direction STS takes in energy research.