ASTS as method: towards a critical practice

This contribution advocates for reconceptualizing Art, Science and Technology Studies (ASTS) as method rather than merely an interdisciplinary convergence. Rooted in the historical notion of technê – centring knowledge formations grounded in practice – the paper presents method as an active, performative mode of engaging with and shaping technoscientific realities. In dialogue with Science and Technology Studies (STS), especially its refusal to separate theory, method and practice, ASTS is positioned as extending this tradition by incorporating the epistemic, aesthetic and material capacities of artistic practice. Rather than observing from a distance, ASTS adopts a critical stance and intervenes within socio-technical systems, actively shaping them while highlighting the situated, contingent and political aspects of knowledge production. By presenting methods and case studies that embody this orientation, the contribution emphasizes how ASTS aims to work generatively with complexity – reconfiguring the infrastructures, imaginaries and modes of critique that shape contemporary technoscientific life.