Protocols in (Emergency) Time

This essay synthesizes findings from the 2023 Summer of Protocols research initiative, identifying two fundamental aspects shared across diverse protocol studies: simultaneous enablement and restraint (protocols as both enablers and constraints), and inherent temporality (protocols as process-oriented phenomena embedded in time). Steiert examines how protocols emerge and unfold across social spheres, technological landscapes, ritual practices, and everyday life through this dual-characteristic framework.

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