Week 8 – Social Technology: SCOT and SSTSOCI/ANTH 441 – Material CultureOctober 22, 2008Alexandre Enkerli

Intro

• Huge field• Programmatic• Preferred not to emphasize technology• Some concepts are applicable to non-tech• Interdisciplinarity

Material Metaphors

•Jay David Bolter Turing’s Man•Defining technologies

▫“A defining technology defines or redefines man's role in relation to nature.” (1984: 13)

▫Pottery, clock, computer▫Peter Kemp, Unersetzliche

(Irreplaceable/Unsubstitutable). The Ethics of Technology

Defining Technology

•Technology is a broad concept that deals with a species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment

About Wikipedia

•Geek-friendly topics•More sophomoric writing

▫http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_and_society

▫Still thought-provoking•Encouraging critical thinking

Wikipedia Links

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_Technology_Studies

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_and_society

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociology_of_scientific_knowledge

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCOT• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Social_shaping_of_technology• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

The_Structure_of_Scientific_Revolutions• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

As_We_May_Think

Technology as Material Culture

•Humans coping with/changing environment

•Tools▫Invented▫Manufactured objects▫Implied knowledge

•SST central to material culture

Geek Culture

•Observing•Broad strokes•Sounds stereotypical•“Gone Native”

Material Culture of Science

•AI• Hello world• Turing

•Biological machines•Nanotech•Science-Fiction

• Genuine People Personalities (HHGttG)

Engineers

•Troubleshooting•Intellectualism•Elitism•Teamwork•Stereotype of social awkwardness•German engineers and Belgian artists

Epistemology

•Think about how people think•Kuhn and Foucault

▫Paradigm and episteme•“Ways of Knowing” (William G. Perry)

▫Dualism to relativism to constructionism

XKCD

• “Impostor” http://xkcd.com/451/• “Purity” http://xkcd.com/435/• “Turn On” http://xkcd.com/474/

Tech World

•Losing jobs to robots•Marrying robots in 50 years?•Technological singularity

Neo-Evolutionism

• Teleological• Deterministic• Technocrats• Positivism• Reductionism• Capitalism

Technological Adoption

•Acceptance•“Closure” in SCOT parlance•“Format Wars”

▫Betamax▫HD-DVD

Adoption Patterns

•Early adopters•Luddites•Amish-style adoption

▫http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish#Modern_technology

▫http://www.theonion.com/content/radio_news/amish_give_up

•Embedding in social life

Civilization (Game)

SCOT

•Constructivism and relativism•Burden of proof•Methodology•Explaining success, addressing failure•Anti-positivism•Anti-determinism

Williams and EdgePinch and BijkerKlein and Kleinman

TLAs and FLAs

• Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (SSK)• Science and Technology Studies (STS)• Structure of Scientific Revolutions (SSR)• Actor-Network Theory (ANT)• Social Construction of Technology (SCOT)• Social Shaping of Technology (SST)• Empirical Programme of Relativism (EPOR)

Authors

•Kuhn•Weber•Bijker•Latour•Callon•Law

Implied Authors

•Foucault• Piaget• Bachelard• Bloor• Vannevar Bush

Vannevar Bush• Enthusiasm• Current relevance•Digital/analog•Mind/machine (mathematician)• Predictions

• Futurism• Moore's Law

• Some not (yet) successful• Resistance to innovation▫ Social causes