Theory+&+Technology

Theory & Technology



technology (n.)
 * the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes
 * the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area
 * the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelations with life, society, and the environment
 * the application of science
 * the purposeful application of information in the design, production, and utilization of goods and services, and in the organization of human activities

ORIGIN early 17th cent.” From Greek //tecknologia ‘systmatic treatment,’// from //tekne ‘art, craft’// + //-logia ‘denoting a type of discourse’//

Three More Definitions

McOmber (2006) narrowed technology down to three non-exhaustive categories. He found that these areas are most common in both popular society and throughout academia.


 * 1) 1. Technology as Instrumentality: “That is, what makes something a technology is simply its status as a tool” (p. 141).
 * 2) 2. Technology as Industrialization: “Technology is the product of a specific historical time and place” (p. 143).
 * 3) 3. Technology as Novelty: “technology refers…to the newest or latest instrumental products of human imagination, and especially to devices not yet widely available or understood.

Technological Determinism



Women and Technology



Katherine T. Durack (1997) discussed the history of technology and argued that ‘technology’ is a gendered term. She notes that technologies invented by women have been historically overlooked. Inter alia, she mentions how the baby bottle has still yet to be received as a technology, especially one that has had such an enormous impact on people around the world and has revolutionized a basic biological function.

Wajcman (2009) initially approached gender and technology from a Marxist perspective and discovered that the division of labor throughout society was gendered and therefore the technology of production was historically under male domination.

A field of study emerged exploring feminism and technology. Wajcman (2007) also wrote that “gender relations can be thought of as materialized in technology, and gendered identities and discourses as produced simultaneously with technologies.

=Foucault & Technology=

Foucault talkes about technology, particularly technologies of power and technologies of the self. According to Michel-Foucault.com, "Foucault defines the Greek word techne as 'a practical rationality governed by a conscious aim'. Foucault generally prefers the word 'technology', which he uses to encompass the broader meanings of techne. Foucault often uses the words techniques and technologies interchangeably, although sometimes techniques tend to be specific and localized and technologies more general collections of specific techniques."

For more information, see: Foucault & Technology

References

Durack, K. T. (1997). Gender, technology, and the history of technical communication. //Technical Communication Quarterly, 6//(3), 249-260.

McOmber, J. B. (1999). Technological autonomy and three definitions of technology. //Journal of Communication, 49//(3), 137-153.

Wajcman, J. (2007). From women and technology to gendered technoscience. //Information, Communication & Society, 10//(3), 287-298.

Wajcman, J. (2009). Feminist theories of technology. //Cambridge Journal of Economics, 34//, 143-152.

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