Toward an Animated History of Technology

This introductory essay proposes an “animated history of technology” examining technological change as the result of dynamic interactions among humans, nonhuman animals, artifacts, and infrastructures. Drawing from the histories of technology and the environment, as well as human–animal studies, the essay argues that animals have been active participants in sociotechnical processes, not merely objects of technological control. Through examples ranging from fish passages and wildlife infrastructures to sericulture, animal labor, biomimicry, and digital wildlife tracking, the essay explores how animals have enabled, shaped, challenged, and sometimes disrupted technological actions in the past. It develops five analytical perspectives: animals as technologies; technology mediating human–animal relations; technology as part of the biosphere; animals as users and codesigners of technology; and improving technology with animals. By foregrounding animal agency, ecological entanglements, and temporal complexity, the essay challenges anthropocentric and teleological narratives of technological progress.