Paper short abstract:

This paper engages with current interests in anthropology and tangential social sciences in the notion of things having sentience or even a voice.

Paper long abstract:

The idea of non-human objects speaking has an illustrious pedigree. From mosquitoes to matsukake mushroom spores, from handkerchiefs to handguns, non-human entities in the social sciences are positively gabbling. This paper argues that much of the storying which gives things speech is based on a distorted imaginary of nature. Using the cigarette as a case study of a global assemblage with ventriloquistic aspirations, following Holbraad (2011) I ask what a speaking cigarette might say. What language would it speak? Do people speak on the cigarette's behalf, or does the cigarette speak through them? What does this say about the power relationships between people, things and global health?