Donald MacKenzie & Judy Wajcman’s Social Shaping of Technology (ft. Judy Wajcman)

In this episode, Eric Hsu and Louis Everuss celebrate their podcast reaching a quarter million downloads by spotlighting a work that has significantly developed the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS): Donald Mackenzie and Judy Wajcman’s influential introductory chapter in their anthology on The Social Shaping of Technology, first published in 1985, and later updated in 1999. This text develops an oft cited critique of technological determinism, which posits that technology is an autonomous force in society, which is the primary driver of social change. Discussing this work leads Eric and Louis to talk about the Trump branded smartphone, Labubu, and the discontinued BlackBerry phone line, which Louis still feels sad about 😞. 

In the second half of the episode, Eric and Louis welcome onto their podcast Judy Wajcman herself. Judy draws from her four plus decades of work within and beyond the field of STS to elaborate on the many themes and topics found in her co-authored chapter with Mackenzie. If Judy were to offer an updated 3rd edition of the work, what new scholarly discussions would she look to include? What keeps Judy up at night with the ways technology is transforming? Judy’s response to these and other questions are offered here to our listeners.

Music and sound effects used in this episode are licensed under a CC 0 License, the CC Attribution License 3.0, or by a SFX (Multi-Use) License Commercial License from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com). Tracks include:

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https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/uFaC3mLnZH/
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https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/mNiHfAoXYS/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/0CdtmVatFG/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/FAsSj9DDpF/
https://freesound.org/people/flood-mix/sounds/413342/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/A2V5xRtt5S/

The views and opinions expressed in the Sociology of Everything podcast are that of the hosts and/or guest speakers, and do not reflect any of the involved institutions.

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