Who has the power to imagine the future? And whose futures become dominant?
On Thursday, 12 November 2026 (15:00–16:00 CET), the CI LAB Seminars series of the Capturing Invisible LAB (Jagiellonian University, Kraków) hosts Dr Magdalena Kuchler, Associate Professor (Docent) at Uppsala University. Her talk is titled “Mapping the Topographies of Power in Sociotechnical Imaginaries”.
Seminar at a glance
- 🎤 Speaker: Dr Magdalena Kuchler, Associate Professor/Docent, Uppsala University
- 📌 Title: Mapping the Topographies of Power in Sociotechnical Imaginaries
- 📅 Date: Thursday, 12 November 2026
- 🕒 Time: 15:00–16:00 CET
- 💻 Format: online seminar, CI LAB Seminars series
- 📝 Registration: join our seminars
- 👥 Organising team: Tadeusz Rudek & Oliwia Mandrela
Power, materiality and collective agency in sociotechnical imaginaries
Magdalena Kuchler’s research has made a significant contribution to advancing and critically rethinking the concept of sociotechnical imaginaries. Her work has been particularly influential in bringing questions of power, materiality and collective agency into this field.
She has examined how Poland’s coal-dependent futures are sustained and asked what we actually mean by the “collective” in collective imaginaries. Her research challenges us to look beyond visions of desirable futures. It investigates the political and material conditions that make some futures possible while marginalising others.
Bounded imaginaries and just energy transitions in Upper Silesia
In her most recent work, Kuchler turns to local, “bounded” imaginaries. These emerge from the lived experience of mining communities in Upper Silesia and can serve as a resource for socially just energy transitions.
Join the discussion
Join us for a discussion about the politics of imagining futures, the uneven distribution of power, and the possibilities of challenging dominant sociotechnical imaginaries. Everyone is warmly welcome!
This talk is part of the anniversary programme celebrating five years of Capturing Invisible LAB.
🔗 Learn more about Magdalena Kuchler
🔗 CI LAB Seminars programme
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