- The History of Technology
- Technology is often thought to arise naturally, but there are always human causes involved.
Definition of Technology:
A modest definition will suffice to begin inquiry: technology is the systematic, purposeful, human manipulation of the physical world by means of some machine or tool.
-
Science history and tech history are separate fields.
-
Two deterministic factors:
- Social Constructionism vs Technological Determinism
-
Actor Network Theory:
- Building these networks involves not only other people, but also things—artifacts—and institutions.
-
Things historians of technology often do:
- Above all, historians of technology are trained to question the “linear model”—the idea that one device gives way to the next in a succession of improvements, following a classic “internalist” progression.
- “Symmetrical analysis” examines the shared features of technologies, helping investigators avoid the assumption that a functioning technology is the only or best way to accomplish a task.
- Historians ask: for whom did it work better, for which “relevant social groups,” and why did those folks exert more influence than those daredevils who preferred (for example) a bicycle with one big wheel and one relatively tiny one?
- They consider not only the technology itself, but also who was able to use it effectively.
- The history of technology aims to understand not only machines and tools, but also the systems that make those devices work for or against human purposes. Successful technological systems throughout history have incorporated non-technological elements such as gender roles, financial institutions, hurricanes, and human urges. And everything else, too.