DOCSLIB.ORG

Science, Technology, and Sustainability: Building a Research Agenda

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Science, Technology, and Sustainability: Building a Research Agenda National Science Foundation Supported Workshop Sept. 8-9, 2008 Report Prepared by: Clark Miller Arizona State University Daniel Sarewitz Arizona State University Andrew Light George Mason University Society Nature Knowledge, ideas, and val- ues Science, tech- nology, and governance Socio-technological systems Economy 1 Introduction Over the last decade, the thesis that scientific and technological research can contribute to over- coming sustainability challenges has become conventional wisdom among policy, business, and research leaders.1 By contrast, relatively little attention has been given to the question of how a better understanding of the human and social dimensions of science and technology could also contribute to improving both the understanding of sustainability challenges and efforts to solve them. Yet, such analyses would seem central to sustainability research. After all, human applica- tions of science and technology pose arguably the single greatest source of threats to global sus- tainability, whether we are talking about the energy and transportation systems that underpin global industrial activities or the worldwide expansion of agriculture into forest and savannah ecosystems. These applications arise out of complex social, political, and economic contexts – and they intertwine science, technology, and society in their implementation – making know- ledge of both the human and social contexts and elements of science and technology essential to understanding and responding to sustainability challenges. Thus, while science and technology are central to efforts to improve human health and wellbeing,2 the application of science and technology has not always contributed as anticipated in past efforts to improve the human condi- tion.3 It is essential, therefore, that research on the relationships between science, technology, and society be integrated into the broader sustainability research agenda. This is the central conclusion of the workshop Science, Technology, and Sustainability: Building a Research Agenda, held at the US National Science Foundation on September 8-9, 2008. The workshop brought together national leaders in research on science, technology, and society (STS) to explore how the field could contribute to sustainability research. In this report, we use the identifier “STS” to refer broadly to researchers working in the full range of intellectual are- nas encompassed by the NSF Program in Science, Technology, and Society.4 Workshop partici- pants were drawn from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives, including environmental histo- ry, sociology, philosophy, and ethics; history of science and technology; science, technology, and environmental policy; disability studies; and social studies of science and technology. Partic- ipants at the workshop also included representatives from federal science and technology agen- cies and the National Science Foundation. Participants in the workshop were asked to address the following three questions: • What unique perspectives are brought by research on science, technology, and society to understanding concepts of sustainability, challenges to sustainability, and sustainability solutions? 1 See, for example, the draft National Science Board report, Building a Sustainable Energy Fu- ture (2009). 2 John Holdren, “Presidential Address: Science and Technology for Sustainable Well-being,” Science 319 (5862): 424-434, 2008. 3 James Scott, Seeing Like a State: How Certain Conditions to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998). 4 This usage is deliberately broader than the sometimes narrower reference to sociology of science and technology or science and technology studies. 2 • What are the central research challenges or areas of research where STS scholars can make significant contributions to the broader sustainability research agenda? • What infrastructure investments would improve the ability of researchers in the full range of STS fields to meet these research challenges and more effectively contribute to im- proving sustainability outcomes? This report synthesizes discussions at the workshop that sought to address these questions. The report is divided into four parts. The first three describe what workshop participants identified as core perspectives brought by STS to the study of sustainability, as well an agenda for future STS research that emerged from that perspective for that would contribute to advance sustainability research and practice. The fourth highlights areas where investments in research infrastructure could significantly enhance the ability of STS to contribute meaningfully to improving sustaina- bility research and outcomes. Here we offer a brief summary of each part: Part I. Socio-technical systems: More than any other research domain, work in the fields of STS research focuses on the coupled systems that link human and social values, behavior, rela- tionships, and institutions to science and technology. Like coupled human-natural systems or so- cio-ecological systems, socio-technical systems are central to understanding the nature and dy- namics of sustainability problems and solutions. Key research questions include: How do the structure and dynamics of socio-technical systems contribute to unsustainable outcomes? How did socio-technical systems that contribute to unsustainable outcomes come to be constructed as they are, and how are those systems maintained over time? How are aspects of people’s lives and livelihoods that are valued as integral to the meaning of sustainability impacted by the design and operation of socio-technical systems? How might sustainability be defined and understood in the context of socio-technical systems? Part II. Knowledge, ideas, and values: A second central area of STS research that contributes directly to sustainability research are inquiries into the human and social practices and arrange- ments and conceptual and ethical frameworks that provide foundations for particular ways of knowing and valuing aspects of society and the environment that are critical to sustainability problems and solutions. Key research questions include: What ideas (concepts, beliefs, know- ledges, ethics, and values) underpin people’s understandings of nature, environment, science, technology, and society as they relate to sustainability? What social practices (behaviors, rela- tionships, arrangements, and institutions) underpin the construction and maintenance of these ideas? In turn, how do these ideas shape social practices and relationships? What are the concep- tual and ethical foundations of sustainability, in terms of both how diverse groups currently un- derstand sustainability and how it might be better understood in the future? Part III. Science, technology, and governance: The third core conceptual focal point of sustai- nability research in STS is its focus on strategies and institutions for governing science and tech- nology in society. Sustainability solutions are likely to require fundamental changes in science and technology policy, management, and regulation that STS research can valuably inform. Key research questions include: How can change be brought about in existing socio-technical systems and systems of knowledge and valuation to create more sustainable alternatives? How can prac- tices of design and innovation be conducted so as to enhance the ability to fashion in the future 3 more sustainable socio-technical systems or systems of knowledge and information from the out- set? What governance arrangements might enhance the ability of societies to achieve more sus- tainable socio-technical systems or systems of knowledge and valuation? Part IV. Infrastructure needs: The final section of the report discusses the infrastructure chal- lenges and needs if research in STS is to effectively contribute to broader research on sustaina- bility. These include: • Opportunities for networking and field-building: To address the research needs de- scribed in this report will require support for the establishment of both interdisciplinary research teams and a broader interdisciplinary field of researchers who can exchange ideas, data, methods, and models; construct and pursue a collaborative research agenda; and build the human capacity to address the long-term challenges of sustainability. • Long-term, systematic, interdisciplinary research initiatives: The scale and complexi- ty of sustainability problems demands a larger scale of research effort and support for systematic research efforts over a longer period of time than can currently be funded un- der existing grants from the NSF Program in Science, Technology, and Society. • Cyberinfrastructure: To support the envisioned research efforts will require new in- vestments in cyberinfrastructure that can support virtual interdisciplinary and collabora- tive work environments, large-scale professional networking platforms, storage and dis- semination of data and other materials; and monitoring and feedback regarding the field’s research and its impacts. • Graduate and postdoctoral training initiatives: Opportunities in the field for advanced conceptual and methodological training for graduate students and postdoctoral research- ers is essential, yet sparse, at best, ad hoc, and localized, while existing graduate pro- grams are highly specialized and do not always afford opportunities for broad cross- training of the next generation of scholars in the kinds of
Recommended publications
  • Historians of Technology in the Real World: Reflections on the Pursuit of Policy-Oriented History

    Historians of Technology in the Real World: Reflections on the Pursuit of Policy-Oriented History

    Historians of Technology in the Real World: Reflections on the Pursuit of Policy-Oriented History Richard F. Hirsh Technology and Culture, Volume 52, Number 1, January 2011, pp. 6-20 (Article) Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press DOI: 10.1353/tech.2011.0039 For additional information about this article http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/tech/summary/v052/52.1.hirsh.html Access provided by Virginia Polytechnic Inst. __ACCESS_STATEMENT__ St.University __ACCESS_STATEMENT__ (Viva) (6 Feb 2014 13:11 GMT) 02_52.1hirsh 6–20:03_49.3dobraszczyk 568– 1/22/11 7:49 AM Page 6 Historians of Technology in the Real World Reflections on the Pursuit of Policy-Oriented History RICHARDF.HIRSH Nearly all historians writing about their craft begin by explaining the value of studying the past. According to the authors of a popular primer, history represents a collective memory that provides an awareness of past events, helping us shape our present and future.1 History has great practical signif- icance, notes another academic, because “intelligent action” draws on past experience.2 As a consequence of the way pedagogues extol the relevance of their work, many high-school students can paraphrase Santayana’s dictum that “[t]hose who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”3 Despite widespread acceptance of the notion that history provides tan- gible benefits, historians usually remain reluctant to apply “lessons” to real- world situations, especially in the realms of public and business policy. Eager to be viewed as unbiased, dispassionate observers of events, most aca- demic historians seem happy to write primarily for their peers.
  • Curriculum Vitae Ned O'gorman Associate Professor Department Of

    Curriculum Vitae Ned O'gorman Associate Professor Department Of

    Curriculum Vitae Ned O’Gorman Associate Professor Department of Communication University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 325 Communication Building, MC-456 1207 Oregon St. Urbana, IL 61801 USA Office Phone: 217.265.0859 Email: [email protected] Web: http://nogorman.org Education Ph.D., 2005, The Pennsylvania State University M.Div., Covenant Theological Seminary M.A., University of Tennessee B.A., Saint Louis University Academic Appointments and Affiliations 2012-present, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, University of Illinois 2015-16, Visiting Faculty Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia 2005-present, Core Faculty, Center for Writing Studies, University of Illinois 2010-present, Core Faculty, Program for Arms Control, Defense, and International Security 2012-13, Faculty Fellow, Center for Advanced Study, University of Illinois 2005-2012, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Illinois Awards & Honors 2103-18, Conrad Humanities Professorial Scholar, University of Illinois 2014, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Dean’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, University of Illinois 2012-13, Center for Advanced Study Fellow, University of Illinois 2013-15, Faculty Member, INTERSECT initiative in Technology Studies, Graduate College, University of Illinois. 2010, National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow (through Vectors/USC Summer Institute) 2010, Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities, Collaborative Research Project Award 2007-08, Humanities
  • Food Forests: Their Services and Sustainability

    Food Forests: Their Services and Sustainability

    Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development ISSN: 2152-0801 online https://foodsystemsjournal.org Food forests: Their services and sustainability Stefanie Albrecht a * Leuphana University Lüneburg Arnim Wiek b Arizona State University Submitted July 29, 2020 / Revised October 22, 2020, and February 8, 2021 / Accepted Febuary 8, 2021 / Published online July 10, 2021 Citation: Albrecht, S., & Wiek, A (2021). Food forests: Their services and sustainability. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 10(3), 91–105. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2021.103.014 Copyright © 2021 by the Authors. Published by the Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems. Open access under CC-BY license. Abstract detailed insights on 14 exemplary food forests in Industrialized food systems use unsustainable Europe, North America, and South America, practices leading to climate change, natural gained through site visits and interviews. We resource depletion, economic disparities across the present and illustrate the main services that food value chain, and detrimental impacts on public forests provide and assess their sustainability. The health. In contrast, alternative food solutions such findings indicate that the majority of food forests as food forests have the potential to provide perform well on social-cultural and environmental healthy food, sufficient livelihoods, environmental criteria by building capacity, providing food, services, and spaces for recreation, education, and enhancing biodiversity, and regenerating soil, community building. This study compiles evidence among others. However, for broader impact, food from more than 200 food forests worldwide, with forests need to go beyond the provision of social- cultural and environmental services and enhance a * Corresponding author: Stefanie Albrecht, Doctoral student, their economic viability.
  • The Greifswalder Theory of Strong Sustainability and Its Relevance for Policy Advice in Germany and the EU

    The Greifswalder Theory of Strong Sustainability and Its Relevance for Policy Advice in Germany and the EU

    Sustainability Science – The Greifswalder Theory of Strong Sustainability and its relevance for policy advice in Germany and the EU Ralf Döring* , Barbara Muraca 1 *Johann Heinrich von Thünen - Federal Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries, Germany Abstract The Greifswald approach was developed over many years in the co-operation of environmental philosophers and ecological economists. The theory combines normative arguments on our responsibilities for current and future generations (intra- and intergenerational justice), the conceptual debate on weak vs. strong sustainability, a new concept for natural capital with practical applications in three sectors: fisheries, agriculture and climate change policy. It was developed as an answer to the increasingly vague understanding of the sustainability concept in the political arena, which gives politicians the possibility of subsuming under it all sorts of different programs and strategies. A sharper definition of the concept is needed that offers a non-arbitrary orientation ground for action to end the further loss of essential parts of natural capital without becoming too rigid and exclusive of differences. In this paper we give firstly a short overview about the philosophical background of the theory and about the conceptual debate on weak and strong sustainability. Secondly, we depict our concept of Natural Capital, which draws on Georgescu-Roegen’s systematic framework of fund, stock, services, and flows and focuses on a central characteristic of nature: its (re)productivity. Accordingly, natural capital consists of living funds, non-living funds, and stocks. This differentiation offers a helpful ground for identifying specific preservation goals for the different parts of natural capital and can be successfully employed in the advice for policy makers (as it has been the case with the German Advisory Council for the Environment over a decade).
  • Technology, Development and Economic Crisis: the Schumpeterian Legacy

    Technology, Development and Economic Crisis: the Schumpeterian Legacy

    CIMR Research Working Paper Series Working Paper No. 23 Technology, development and economic crisis: the Schumpeterian legacy by Rinaldo Evangelista University of Camerino Piazza Cavour, 19/F, 62032 Camerino (IT) +39-0737-403074 [email protected] June 2015 ISSN 2052-062X Abstract This contribution aims at highlighting the complex, non-linear and potentially contradictory nature of the relationships between technological progress, economic growth and social development, in particular within the context of market based economies. The main (provocative) argument put forward in the paper is that the recent neo-Schumpeterian literature, while providing fundamental contributions to our understanding of innovation, has contributed to the rising of a positivistic reading of the relationship between technology, economy and society, with technology being able to guaranty strong economic growth and (implicitly) social welfare. This is confirmed by the fact that, contrary to other influential heterodox economic schools and Schumpeter himself, in the recent neo- Schumpeterian literature technology is only rarely associated to macroeconomic market failures such as systemic crises, structural unemployment, and the growth of social and economic inequalities. It is also argued that the emergence of a “positivistic bias” in the neo-Schumpeterian literature has been associated to the dominance of a supply-side and micro-based view of the technology-economy relationships. Key words: Technology, Innovation, Schumpeter, Development, Crisis JEL codes: B52, O00, O30. 2 1. Introduction There is no doubt that the last economic crisis, with its depth, extension and length, could have, at least in principle, the potentiality of shaking at the fundamentals the dominant neo-liberal economic thinking and policy framework.
  • Technology Policy and the Environment

    Technology Policy and the Environment

    SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT « Technology Policy and the Environment What is the role of technology and technology policy in addressing environmental concerns and realising sustainable development goals? To consider this question, a Workshop on Technology Policy Technology Policy and the Environment was held in Paris on 21 June 2001 as part of the OECD Horizontal Programme on Sustainable Development. This brochure contains a summary of the workshop discussions, which and the Environment focused on the contributions of economic theory and modelling to understanding technology/ environment relationships. Participants debated the role and design of technology policy in addressing environmental problems and developed a list of recommendations for future OECD work. The insights gained at the workshop will contribute to further OECD analysis on technology and sustainable development. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT www.oecd.org 2000 Technology Policy and the Environment ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960, and which came into force on 30th September 1961, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shall promote policies designed: – to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in Member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy; – to contribute to sound economic expansion in Member as well as non-member countries in the process of economic development; and – to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, non-discriminatory basis in accordance with international obligations. The original Member countries of the OECD are Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
  • Japanese Technology Policy: History and a New Perspective

    Japanese Technology Policy: History and a New Perspective

    DPRIETI Discussion Paper Series 01-E-001 Japanese Technology Policy: History and a New Perspective HARAYAMA Yuko RIETI The Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/ RIETI Discussion Paper Series 01-E-001 JAPANESE TECHNOLOGY POLICY: HISTORY AND A NEW PERSPECTIVE Yuko Harayama Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry August 2001 Abstract The last decade of the 20th century was marked by the emergence of a "knowledge-based economy," with governments in most OECD countries intensifying their commitment to the underlying research and development activities. Japan is no exception. The Japanese government affirmed setting the objectives of a "Nation Based on Science and Technology" as the fundamental policy goal in 1980 and since then it has implemented several laws and policy packages in the fields of science, technology, industry and higher education, with the common denominator being "Industry-University- State cooperation." This policy orientation has been consolidated by the Science and Technology Basic Law, introduced in 1995, which gave the government legal competence in science and technology. This trend tends to reinforce stereotypic images of the Japanese innovation system, such as the "government picking up technological paths" or "industry and government working hand-in-hand." Does this perception reflect reality? This study attempts to clarify this by examining: · How the technology policy evolved during the postwar period in Japan; · What its impact was on the private sector's decision on R&D activities; · What the underlying philosophy was of the government's R&D policies, if one existed; · What the new perspective is.
  • Challenges for Integration of Sustainability Into Engineering Education

    Challenges for Integration of Sustainability Into Engineering Education

    AC 2012-4565: CHALLENGES FOR INTEGRATION OF SUSTAINABIL- ITY INTO ENGINEERING EDUCATION Dr. Qiong Zhang, University of South Florida Qiong Zhang is an Assistant Professor in civil and environmental engineering at the University of South Florida (USF). She received a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from Michigan Tech. Prior to joining the faculty at USF in 2009, she served as the Operations Manager of the Sustainable Future Institute at Michigan Tech. Dr. Linda Vanasupa, California Polytechnic State University Dr. James R. Mihelcic, University of South Florida James R. Mihelcic is a professor of civil and environmental engineering and state of Florida 21st Century World Class Scholar at the University of South Florida. He directs the Peace Corps master’s international program in civil and environmental engineering (http://cee.eng.usf.edu/peacecorps). Mihelcic is a Past President of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP), a member of the EPA Science Advisory Board, and a board-certified member and Board Trustee of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE). He is lead author for three textbooks: Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering (John Wiley & Sons, 1999); Field Guide in Environmental Engineering for Development Workers: Water, Sanitation, Indoor Air (ASCE Press, 2009); and, Environmental Engineer- ing: Fundamentals, Sustainability, Design (John Wiley & Sons, 2010). Dr. Julie Beth Zimmerman, Yale University Simona Platukyte, University of South Florida Page 25.294.1 Page c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012 Challenges for Integration of Sustainability into Engineering Education Abstract Due to the relative novelty of the subject of sustainability in the engineering community and its complexity, many challenges remain to successful integration of sustainability education in engineering.
  • Rhetoric for Becoming Otherwise

    Rhetoric for Becoming Otherwise

    The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of the Liberal Arts RHETORIC FOR BECOMING OTHERWISE: LIFE, LITERATURE, GENEALOGY, FLIGHT A Dissertation in English by Abram D. Anders © 2009 Abram D. Anders Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2009 ii The dissertation of Abram D. Anders was reviewed and approved* by the following: Richard M. Doyle Professor of English and Science, Technology and Society Dissertation Advisor Chair of Committee Jeffrey T. Nealon Liberal Arts Research Professor of English Xiaoye You Assistant Professor of English and Asian Studies Robert A. Yarber, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Art Robert R. Edwards Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English and Comparative Literature Department of English Graduate Director *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. iii ABSTRACT Rhetoric for Becoming Otherwise begins with the Isocratean premise that thought, speech, writing are best understood as bridges between the already said of language and the emerging circumstances that are the occasions for their production. This argument is rehearsed across a variety of domains and instances following Isocrates exhortation that the rhetorician or practitioner of philosophia can only model the movement of discourse without expecting to provide any “true knowledge” or “absolute theory” for how to encounter the problematics of an endlessly deferred present. As a matter of rhetoric, becoming otherwise is the continually renewed task of creating something new from the resources of language and for the demands of an ever deferred present—Presocratics versus Classicists (Chapter 1). As a matter of health, becoming otherwise is the necessity of overcoming limitation and suffering in order to achieve new norms of health and pursue the ever changing opportunities of a self‐developing capacity for producing new capacities—Normativity versus Normalization (Chapter 2).
  • Core Literature of WTMC

    Core Literature of WTMC

    Core Literature of WTMC Core Literature of WTMC 2018 edition INTRODUCTION Core Literature of WTMC The Dutch national research school WTMC seeks to The second list, of introductions, is in particular useful for analyse, understand and explain the manifold and intricate new entrants in the field. The classics, of course, are also relationships between science, technology and modern informative, but may require more background knowledge. culture. This, of course, is an interdisciplinary effort that The introductions provide an overview of the main draws from and contributes to various research traditions, perspectives, methods and findings of the research field of each with their own literatures. In this overview we list the WTMC. core literature of the research school WTMC. The third category, the research clusters, proposes more The aim of this list is threefold: specific literature for the many lines of research in WTMC. • it provides an introduction to the intellectual and academic Within each of the clusters some key references are aspirations of WTMC; suggested to orient the researcher interested in these more • it helps PhD students to locate their studies within a broader specific areas of study. These references may also be used set of literatures; in the programs of the PhD workshops, depending on the • it supports the ongoing reflection of research agendas topic. Together, the research clusters are a demonstration of within WTMC. the richness and excitement of the research school WTMC. The list of core literature is organised into four categories: The overview ends with a list of journals that are important classics, introductions, research clusters, and journals.
  • The Jansen Linkage Kyra Rudy, Lydia Fawzy, Santino Bianco, Taylor Santelle Dr

    The Jansen Linkage Kyra Rudy, Lydia Fawzy, Santino Bianco, Taylor Santelle Dr

    The Jansen Linkage Kyra Rudy, Lydia Fawzy, Santino Bianco, Taylor Santelle Dr. Antonie J. (Ton) van den Bogert Applications and Abstract Advancements The Jansen linkage is an eleven-bar mechanism Currently, the primary application of the Jansen designed by Dutch artist Theo Jansen in his linkage is walking motion used in legged robotics. In collection “Strandbeest.” The mechanism is crank order to create a robot that can move independently, driven and mimics the motion of a leg. Its scalable a minimum of three linkage attached to a motor are design, energy efficiency, and deterministic foot required. An agile and fluid motion is created by the trajectory show promise of applicability in legged linkage.With the linkage’s mobility, robots are robotics. Theo Jansen himself has demonstrated capable of moving both forwards and backwards and pivoting left to right without compromising equal the usefulness of the mechanism through his traction. The unique gait pattern of the mechanism "standbeest” sculptures that utilize duplicates of the allows digitigrade movement, step climbing, and linkage whose cranks are turned by wind sails to obstacle evasion. However, the gait pattern is produce a walking motion. The motion yielded is maladaptive which limits its jam avoidance. smooth flowing and relatively agile. Because the linkage has been recently invented within the last few decades, walking movement is currently the primary application. Further investigation and optimization could bring about more useful applications that require a similar output path when simplicity in design is necessary. The Kinematics The Jansen linkage is a one degree of freedom, Objective planar, 11 mobile link leg mechanism that turns the The Jansen linkage is an important building The objective of this poster is to show the rotational movement of a crank into a stepping motion.
  • Sound Studies: New Technologies and Music

    Sound Studies: New Technologies and Music

    Sound Studies: New Technologies and Music Trevor Pinch and Karin Bijsterveld Developments in sound technologies over the last 50 years have dramat- ically changed the way that music is produced and consumed. In the 19th century most music was experienced as live performance. Today most music is listened to individually through technologically mediated devices, such as a personal stereo or a personal computer that enables the down- loading of MP3 files over the Internet, and in the past few decades music has been produced with new electronic instruments such as the Theremin, the Hammond Organ, the electric guitar, the synthesizer, and the digital sampler. Technologies such as the phonograph, tape-recorder, and com- pact disk have enabled ‘sound’ to be produced, controlled, and manipu- lated independently from musicians. In today’s recording studios the sound engineers can be as important in the production of ‘the sound’ as are the musicians themselves. But how can such changes be understood and what do they mean for listeners and for science and technology studies (S&TS)? The papers in this special issue address such issues. The papers were first presented at an international workshop, ‘Sound Matters: New Tech- nology in Music’, held at the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands, in November 2002. The scholars at the workshop were drawn from such diverse fields as ethnomusicology, history, anthropology, cultural studies, sociology, and S&TS. All were working on some aspect of what we might call ‘auditory culture’. For such scholars, sound matters. The topic of the workshop was new technologies and music. The papers covered a range of technological innovations in the way in which music was produced and consumed.