Studying Emerge: Findings from an event ethnography

• An event ethnography was carried out of the Emerge workshop.
• Emerge showcased a range of formats for future-oriented discussion.
• We describe these formats and discuss the role of the non-discursive within them.
• Experimenting with new formats offers both opportunities and constraints, but provide futures practitioners with new tools.

The Emerge event, held in Tempe, AZ in March 2012, brought together a range of scientists, artists, futurists, engineers and students in order to experiment with innovative methods for thinking about the future. These methodological techniques were tested through nine workshops, each of which made use of a different format; Emerge as a whole, then, offered an opportunity to study a diverse set of future-oriented engagement practices. We conducted an event ethnography, in which a team of 11 researchers collaboratively developed accounts of the practices at play within Emerge and its workshops. In this article we discuss findings from this ethnography, using our data both to describe the techniques used within Emerge and to analyse key patterns which occurred around those techniques. As we close we reflect on the implications of these findings for practice, suggesting ways in which our results can help hone the tools and techniques of future studies.