Science, Technology, and Society Studies

Abstract

This entry examines contemporary scholarship on media and information technologies at the intersection of science and technology studies (STS) and communication studies. The term “media and information technologies” is used to bring together a variety of research frameworks that seek to capture symbolic, social, cultural, or political aspects of technology. This body of work emphasizes broad historical scope, infrastructural dimensions, and the distinctive interplay of materiality with symbolic content and meaning. The discussion is organized around three key conceptual bridges: prevailing notions about causality in technology–society relationships; the process of technology development; and the social consequences of technological change. The entry concludes by considering some broader implications of the contemporary landscape of research at the intersection of STS and communication studies for continued intellectual dialogue between the two fields.

Women on the Block

“…Science and technology studies (STS), and the concept of the social shaping of technology (SCOT) that emerged from it, have supported communication scholars in this pursuit (Pinch & Bijker, 1987;MacKenzie & Wajcman, 1999;Boczkowski & Lievrouw, 2008). This school of thought highlights the fact that technologies, such as the electric light or digital networks, are never merely technical -their everyday functions are deeply intertwined with economic, organizational, political, and socio-cultural factors (Hughes, 1993).…”