Overview

Technology permeates almost every dimension of our lives. But who controls technological development? Can technology cause social inequality? And how will technology continue to affect lives in the digital era? Technology and Social Power provides a fresh examination of the role of technology in our society. Bringing together critical, classical and contemporary social theories, it fully examines everything you need to know about the sociology of technology. From the invention of the modern toothbrush to the design of Google, the book uses relevant examples to give useful insights into the social dimension of everyday technology. With clear definitions of key terms alongside a well-balanced approach to the most important empirical and theoretical work in the field, this book provides a clear and thorough account of the subject. Making complex ideas accessible, it is invaluable reading for all students seeking to understand the role of technology in our society today, and its likely impact in the future.

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9781403947307

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Reviews

'A veritable counter-revolution in technology studies. Kirkpatrick offers a theory of technology that can converge with and contribute to a politically relevant left critique.' - Andrew Feenberg, Canada Research Chair in Philosophy of Technology, Simon Fraser University, Canada 'Technology and Social Power stands as a short and very readable introduction to the philosophy and sociology of technology, conducted with an explicitly critical perspective. Key thinkers and theoretical perspectives are unpacked well, with a clear and unpretentious voice! some great discussions of some fascinating topics.' - Rob McGrail, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

'A veritable counter-revolution in technology studies. Kirkpatrick offers a theory of technology that can converge with and contribute to a politically relevant left critique.' - Andrew Feenberg, Canada Research Chair in Philosophy of Technology, Simon Fraser University, Canada 'Technology and Social Power stands as a short and very readable introduction to the philosophy and sociology of technology, conducted with an explicitly critical perspective. Key thinkers and theoretical perspectives are unpacked well, with a clear and unpretentious voice! some great discussions of some fascinating topics.' - Rob McGrail, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand '... Let me endorse Kirkpatrick's scene-setting for the book, expressed in Chapter 1: I hope, in what follows, to contribute to a critical theory of technology that has a built-in standard of relevance, is not suspicious of technology because it is technology, and accepts the priority of scientific-technological explanations in our understanding of the world. At the same time the theory should be critical in the sense that it enables us to pinpoint occasions where technology design and its consequences are matters of serious concern and to clarify forms of agency relevant to challenging and questioning technology in contemporary society. I think he has succeeded.' - Chris Bissell, The Open University, UK

'A veritable counter-revolution in technology studies. Kirkpatrick offers a theory of technology that can converge with and contribute to a politically relevant left critique.' - Andrew Feenberg, Canada Research Chair in Philosophy of Technology, Simon Fraser University, Canada 'Technology and Social Power stands as a short and very readable introduction to the philosophy and sociology of technology, conducted with an explicitly critical perspective. Key thinkers and theoretical perspectives are unpacked well, with a clear and unpretentious voice... some great discussions of some fascinating topics.' - Rob McGrail, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand '... Let me endorse Kirkpatrick's scene-setting for the book, expressed in Chapter 1: I hope, in what follows, to contribute to a critical theory of technology that has a built-in standard of relevance, is not suspicious of technology because it is technology, and accepts the priority of scientific-technological explanations in our understanding of the world. At the same time the theory should be critical in the sense that it enables us to pinpoint occasions where technology design and its consequences are matters of serious concern and to clarify forms of agency relevant to challenging and questioning technology in contemporary society. I think he has succeeded.' - Chris Bissell, The Open University, UK

Author Information

GRAEME KIRKPATRICK is Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Manchester, UK. He has published articles on technology and society in a variety of journals. His co-edited volume, Historical Materialism and Social Evolution, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2003. He is also author of Critical Technology, which won the 2005 Philip Abrams Prize from the British Sociological Association

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