Technology and Social Theory

by Matthewman, Steve

• ISBN13: 9780230577565
• ISBN10: 0230577563
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-10-15
• Publisher: Red Globe Pr

Summary

Technology is not a new development; the novelty lies in its total domination of our social lives. This book uses social theory to make sense of the growing role of technology in our lives at home, at work or at leisure. Drawing on the latest empirical work, it gives a clear sociological analysis of technology for all social science students.

Author Biography

STEVE MATTHEWMAN is Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Department of Sociology, University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is an established writer and teacher in Sociology, with specific interests in science and technology, social theory, cultural studies and modernity and its discontents. His most recent publications include (with Bell) Cultural Studies in Aotearoa New Zealand: Identity, Space and Place (Oxford University Press, 2004) and Being Sociological (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007).

Table of Contents

Introduction
Theorising Technology
Marx, Modernity and the Machine
Constructing the Modern: Human-Built World
The Politics of Artefacts
The Social Construction of Technology
The Socio-Technical Construction of Society: Actor-Network Theory
Left to Our Own Devices: Subjective Machines
Objective Life: Things and Social Theory
Conclusion: We Have Always Been Posthuman
Bibliography
Index