Despite the peripheral status of the anthropology of technology and material culture, compelling questions remain: What is technology? Is technology a human universal? What is the relationship between technological development and cultural evolution? Are there common themes in the appropriation of artifacts that bridge capitalist and precapitalist societies? How do people employ artifacts to accomplish social purposes in the course of everyday life? What kind of cultural meaning is embodied in technological artifacts? How does culture influence technological innovation-and how does technological innovation influence culture?
Source
Pfaffenberger, Bryan. "Social anthropology of technology." Annual Review of Anthropology 21, no. 1 (1992): 491-516.
Language
English
Cite as
Bryan Pfaffenberger, "SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY OF TECHNOLOGY ", contributed by Parikshith Shashikumar, STS Infrastructures, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 16 February 2019, accessed 22 December 2024. https://stsinfrastructures.org/content/social-anthropology-technology-1
Critical Commentary
Despite the peripheral status of the anthropology of technology and material culture, compelling questions remain: What is technology? Is technology a human universal? What is the relationship between technological development and cultural evolution? Are there common themes in the appropriation of artifacts that bridge capitalist and precapitalist societies? How do people employ artifacts to accomplish social purposes in the course of everyday life? What kind of cultural meaning is embodied in technological artifacts? How does culture influence technological innovation-and how does technological innovation influence culture?