Sociology of Expectations

The sociology of expectations studies how promises, visions, hype, and expectations about the future actively shape the development of science and technology. Set out by Nik Brown, Mads Borup, Harro van Lente, and Kornelia Konrad, it treats expectations not as mere predictions to be judged true or false but as performative resources that mobilise funding, coordinate actors, and guide work—analysing how futures are constructed in the present and with what real effects.