“Technology as culture” for the Elgar Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Studies (2024)
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The Encyclopedia of STS provides a comprehensive overview of the expanding field of science and technology studies (STS). Covering key frameworks, themes and topics, Ulrike Felt and Alan Irwin bring together expert contributors to map the development of STS within its historical and intellectual context. My chapter discusses the central role of culture in understanding the development, design, and use of technologies from the perspective of STS. It traces the emergence of the debate on technology and society in the mid-20th century, when early thinkers like Lewis Mumford and Jacques Ellul started viewing technology as more than just a neutral tool, but as an entity connected to social, economic, and cultural forces. This challenged the dominant technological determinism view that saw technology as an autonomous force driving social change. The chapter then outlines two major STS frameworks that aimed to provide a more nuanced understanding of the technology-society relationship – the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) and Actor-Network Theory (ANT). SCOT emphasized the interpretative flexibility of technologies and the role of relevant social groups in shaping their meanings and uses. ANT focused on the networks of relationships between human and non-human actors that stabilize during innovation processes. The chapter identifies five key pathways through which STS has explored the cultural dimensions of technology: 1) Integrating feminist approaches to study gender and technology; 2) Examining the role of narratives, discourses and imaginaries; 3) Conceptualizing complex technologies as infrastructures; 4) Studying technology users and consumption; 5) Intersecting with humanities disciplines like art and sound studies. It then discusses two emerging trajectories – the study of digital media technologies which have become central to contemporary culture, and a focus on non-Western technologies along with postcolonial perspectives. The latter aims to challenge Western-centric biases and incorporate diverse cultural contexts in understanding technological development. In summary, the chapter traces how STS has moved away from technological determinism to view technologies as deeply embedded in social, cultural, economic and political processes. It highlights the various conceptual tools and approaches developed to analyze the mutual shaping of technology and culture across different domains and contexts. Download an Author’s Accepted Manuscript (AAM) version of the chapter Recommended citation: Magaudda, P. (2024). “Technology as Culture” In A. Irwin & U. Felt (Eds.) Elgar Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Studies (pp. 61-71). Edward Elgar.
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