The social meanings and cultural horizons of technology

Assessment

Please, complete the following statements:

1. Something new I learned from this learning module about technology was . . .

2. Which was the most important concept that you learned from this learning module on technology and culture?

3. Which was the muddiest point you confronted while completing this learning module on technology and culture?

Bibliography

Bijker, W. E. American and Dutch Coastal Engineering. Social Studies of Science, 37(1), 143-152

Borgmann, A. (1995). The Moral Significance of the Material Culture. In A.

Feenberg, A. Hannay (Eds.), Technology and the Politics of Knowledge (pp. 85-93). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Feenberg, A. Hannay (Eds.), Technology and the Politics of Knowledge (pp. 85-93). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Dussel, E. (1998). Beyond Eurocentrism. In F. Jameson, M. Miyoshi (Eds.), The Cultures of Globalization (pp. 3-31). Durham: Duke University Press.

Feenberg, A. (1995). Subversive Rationalization. In A. Feenberg, A. Hannay (Eds.), Technology and the Politics of Knowledge (pp. 3-22). Bllomington: Indiana University Press.

Grimes, S. M. Feenberg, A. (2009). Rationalizing Play. The Information Society, 25, 105-118.

Parnis, D., Du Mont, J. (2006). Symbolic Power and the Intitutional Response to Rape. Canadian Review of Social Anthropology , 43 (1), 73-93.

Further reading

Bijker, W. E. (2006). The Vulnerability of Technological Culture. In H. Nowotny Cultures of Technology and the Quest for Innovation (pp. 52-69). New York, Berghahn Books.

Bijker, W. E., Law, J. (Eds.). (1992). Shaping technology/Building society. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

Borgmann, A. (1995). The Moral Significance of the Material Culture. In A.

Feenberg, A. Hannay (Eds.), Technology and the Politics of Knowledge (pp. 85-93). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Dussel, E. (1998). Beyond Eurocentrism. In F. Jameson, M. Miyoshi (Eds.), The Cultures of GLobalization (pp. 3-31). Durham: Duke University Press.

Marcuse, H. (1991[1964]). One-Dimensional Man. Boston: Beacon Press.

Parnis, D.,&Du Mont, J. (2006). Symbolic Power and the Intitutional Response to Rape. Canadian Review of Social Anthropology , 43 (1), 73-93.

Feenberg, A., Hannay, A. (Eds.). (1995). The Politics of Knowledge. Indiana: Indiana University Press.

MacKenzie, D., Wajman, J. (Eds.). (1999). The Social Shaping of Technology. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Marcuse, H. (1991[1964]). One-Dimensional Man. Boston: Beacon Press.

Parnis, D., Du Mont, J. (2006). Symbolic Power and the Intitutional Response to Rape. Canadian Review of Social Anthropology , 43 (1), 73-93.

Thomas, R. J. (1994). What Machines Can't do. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Volti, R. (2008). Society and Technological Change. New York: Worth Publishers.

Let’s try it again. how much do you know about technology?

Multiple Selection Exercises

1. Which of the following statements is accurate of technology?

1. Technology is the product of rational technical imperatives.
2. Technology is designed by autonomous and objective experts.
3. Technology embodies various social and cultural meanings.
4. Technology is always the product of applied science.

2. The cultural horizon of a given technology refers to:

1. the technical and instrumental rationality of technology.
2. the set of assumptions about social values that shape technology.
3. the social representations and/or depictions of a given technology.
4. the set of scientific values embedded in a given technology.

3. Which of the following concepts refer to the increasing tendency among people to use knowledge, especially scientific knowledge, in the context of interpersonal relationships, with the aim of achieving greater control of the world around them?

1. Technology
2. Rationalization
3. Secularization
4. Technocracy

4. To examine and fully understand technologies from other cultures sociologists must avoid

1. cultural relativism
2. ethnocentrism
3. rationality
4. reflexivity

5. Associate the following concepts and their meanings:

____ Cultural horizon

____ Social meanings

____ Ethnocentrism

____ Cultural relativism

____ Rationalization

a. Symbolic and figurative content of technology

b. Assumptions about social values that inform and determine technology.

c. The assumption that one’s group is superior to other groups.

d. Tendency to use of knowledge, especially scientific knowledge, in the context of social relations.

d. Understanding other cultures in their own terms.

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This learning module was prepared by Dr. José Anazagasty Rodríguez. He teaches sociology for the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. Tel. 787-832-4040 exts. 3839, 3407, 3303 Fax. 787-265-5440 Address: University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez Campus Faculty of Arts and Sciences Department of Social Sciences PO Box 9266 Mayagüez, PR 00681-9266