Postgraduate Course: Social and Economic Perspectives on Technology (PGSP11219)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Postgrad (School of Social and Political Studies) |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | The course aims to provide a solid conceptual grounding in various disciplinary approaches, primarily sociological and economic, to the study of technological change. It starts by considering the shortcomings of some common academic and popular conceptions of the character of technology and its relation to society. The course then examines a range of contributions from the broad field of technology and innovation studies over the past two decades that have built up a more adequate explanation, and their synthesis into an emerging perspective now known as the social shaping of technology. The course focuses particularly on the organisation and processes of design, development and use, on the complex influences that shape them, and on the dynamics that connect them. Case studies of different systems and different domains of technology are used to illustrate the approaches and themes. The course also indicates some of the practical implications of this new perspective for innovation and for the governance of technological change which are followed through in other courses. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2011/12 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
|
WebCT enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Central | Lecture | Room 106, Old Surgeon's Hall | 1-11 | | | 11:10 - 13:00 | | | | Central | Lecture | Room 106, Old Surgeons' Hall | 1-11 | | | 14:00 - 14:50 | | |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course students will have demonstrated through written work, oral presentations and other contributions in class, that they can:
-Discuss intelligently the complex forces shaping technology and our relationships to it
-Reflect critically on key theoretical approaches with reference to relevant empirical material
-Make use of appropriate frameworks and scholarly tools for more detailed investigations in subsequent courses and in the dissertation |
Assessment Information
| Book review of 1,000 words (worth 25%) and essay of 3,500 (worth 75%) |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Week 1: The relationship between technology and society
Week 2: Social shaping, SCOT and ANT
Week 3: Criticism and developments of sociological approaches
Week 4: Economic approaches to technology: Neo-classical, Marx and Schumpeter
Week 5: Evolutionary economics approaches to technology
Week 6: Evaluating technology
Week 7: Technology and users
Week 8: Systems Approaches: sociotechnical systems, innovation systems and the multi-level perspective
Week 9: Feminist studies of technoscience
Week 10: Technology and work organisation |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Bijker, W., T. Hughes & T. Pinch (eds.) (1988) The Social Construction of Technological
Systems: New Directions in the Sociology and History of Technology, Cambridge MA: MIT
Press
Bijker, W. & J. Law (eds.) (1992) Shaping Technology/Building Society, Cambridge MA: MIT
Press
Clark, N. (1985) The Political Economy of Science and Technology, Oxford: Blackwell
Collins, H. & T. Pinch (1998) The Golem at Large,
Coombs, R., P. Saviotti & V. Walsh (1987) Economics and Technological Change, London:
Macmillan
Elliot, B. (ed.) (1988) Technology and Social Process, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
Feenberg, A. (1991) Critical Theory of Technology,
Feenberg, A., T.J. Misa & P Brey (2003) Modernity and Technology,
Freeman, C. & L. Soete (3rd ed., 1997) The Economics of Industrial Innovation, London: Pinter
Goldhaber, M. (1986), Reinventing Technology,
Green, L. & R. Guinery (eds.) (1994) Framing Technology,
Hill, S. (1988) The Tragedy of Technology,
Jasanoff, S., G.E. Markle, J.C. Petersen & T. Pinch (eds.) (1994) Handbook of Science and
Technology Studies, London: Sage
Kirkpatrick, G. (2008), Technology and Social Power, Basingstoke: Palgrave
Kirkup, G. & L.S. Keller (1992) (eds.) Inventing Women: Science, Technology and Gender,
Milton Keynes: Open University
Law, J (ed.) (1991) Sociology of Monsters, London: Routledge
MacKenzie, D. (1996) Knowing Machines: Essays on Technical Change, Cambridge MA: MIT
Press
MacKenzie, D. & J. Wajcman (eds.) (2nd ed., 1999) The Social Shaping of Technology,
Buckingham: Open University Press
McLaughlin, J. et al. (1999) Valuing Technology,
McLoughlin, I (1999) Creative Technological Change, London: Routledge
Rip, A. et al. (eds.) (1995) Managing Technology in Society
Rosenberg, N. (1976) Perspectives on Technology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Rosenberg, N. (1982) Inside the Black Box: Technology and Economics, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press
Rybczynski, W. (1985) Taming the Tiger
Scarborough, H. & J.M. Corbett (1992) Technology and Organisation
Sørensen, K. and R. Williams (eds.) (2002) Shaping Technology, Guiding Policy, Cheltenham:
Edward Elgar
Street, J. (1992) Politics and Technology
Wajcman, J. (1991) Feminism Confronts Technology, Cambridge: Polity
Webster, A. (1991) Science, Technology and Society: New Directions, London: Macmillan
Westrum, R. (1991) Technologies and Society: the Shaping of People and Things, Belmont CA:
Wadsworth |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Robin Williams
Tel: (0131 6)50 6387
Email: R.Williams@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Madina Howard
Tel: (0131 6)51 1659
Email: Madina.Howard@ed.ac.uk |
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