This paper sketches a methodological and epistemological argument which could be entitled “Humanities and the study of the present”. The discussion is based on the author's research experience in Chinese studies, which is used as data to debate about how/if Humanities can benefit from STS developments and vice-versa. The core idea of the article is that humanities scholars may use actor-network theory and grounded theory to get inspiration on how to study in their own way current popular objects such as websites, mobile phones, cosmetics, advertisement banners, TV series, mp3 files, computers, software, or cars.