Abstract
This article reviews constructivist technology studies, and especially the social construction of technology (SCOT). To investigate how these constructivist studies regard the ontology of technology, I will trace their historical development in units of analysis, methodological approaches and research questions. Constructivist technology studies are relativistic in only one sense: methodological. They are agnostic with respect to the ontology of technology. Constructivist studies of technology thus do not primarily answer the question 'what is technology?'; they trace the process 'how to make technology'.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 63-76 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Cambridge Journal of Economics |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2010 |
Keywords
- ARTIFACTS
- DEMOCRACY
- IDENTITY
- Idealism
- O30
- O31
- O33
- Ontology
- Realism
- Relativism
- SCIENCE
- SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION
- Social construction
- Technological culture
- Technological frame
- Technology