Rethinking Science, Technology, and Social Change

Ralph Schroeder is James Martin Research Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute. His books include Possible Worlds: The Social Dynamic of Virtual Reality Technology and Max Weber and the Sociology of Culture

"This book grapples with one of the most pressing issues of our time - the social impact of new technologies. It provides a refreshingly provocative view of the force of technology in determining the conditions for our everyday lives. It is a welcome and highly original addition to the social studies of science and technology." —Judy Wajcman, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University "This is a timely and bold book. It takes issue with the knee jerk reaction to 'Technological Determinism' that is prevalent in social science, and explores how technology plays a material role in societies and influencessocial institutions and change. . . . This landmark study will need to be taken into account by historians, sociologists, economists, engineers, scientists, and those concerned with science, technology, and innovationpolicy."—Ian Miles, Manchester Business School, University of Manchester "Schroeder has developed a skepticism about what he finds the reductionism of the dominant social constructivist thought. His ideas have not been popular so far, and he would be surprised if reaction to the book were much different. Such disagreement, he says, is how science works when it works."—Book News

• [Table of Contents] Contents Preface Acknowledgments 1 Why Rethinking? 2. The Social Organization of Scientific and Technological Advance 3. Big Science and Large Technological Systems 4. Science, Technology, and Economic Change 5. The Mediation of Politics as a Large Technological System 6. The Consumption of Technology in Everyday Life 7. Who's Afraid of Scientific Objectivity and Technological Determinism? Notes References Index