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Del Laboratorio a La Ciudad: Wiebe Bijker Habla De La Evolución De Los Estudios Sociales De La Tecnología Redes, Vol Redes ISSN: 0328-3186 [email protected] Universidad Nacional de Quilmes Argentina Boczkowski, Pablo J. Del Laboratorio a la Ciudad: Wiebe Bijker habla de la evolución de los Estudios Sociales de la Tecnología Redes, vol. 7, núm. 16, diciembre, 2000, pp. 89-106 Universidad Nacional de Quilmes Buenos Aires, Argentina Disponible en: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=90701603 Cómo citar el artículo Número completo Sistema de Información Científica Más información del artículo Red de Revistas Científicas de América Latina, el Caribe, España y Portugal Página de la revista en redalyc.org Proyecto académico sin fines de lucro, desarrollado bajo la iniciativa de acceso abierto DOSSIER Del Laboratorio a la Ciudad: Wiebe Bijker habla de la evolución de los Estudios Sociales de la Tecnología REDES, Vol. VII, No. 16, diciembre de 2000, pp. 87-106 Del Laboratorio a la Ciudad: Wiebe Bijker habla de la evolución de los Estudios Sociales de la Tecnología* Pablo J. Boczkowski ** Wiebe Bijker es un ingeniero heterodoxo y, parafraseando a John Law, heterogéneo. Si entendemos la ingeniería en sentido amplio como el uso del conocimiento y la experi- mentación para la creación de objetos socialmente útiles, la trayectoria de Bijker es cier- tamente “ingenieril” –tal como se manifiesta en la construcción de entidades tan diversas como planes de reforma curricular para la educación media, colecciones edi- toriales, programas transnacionales de posgrado, disciplinas académicas, movimientos políticos, manuales de Física para alumnos de escuela secundaria y textos sociológi- cos–. En el medio de tanta heterodoxia y heterogeneidad ha habido al menos un ele- mento constante: la pasión –y tal vez la obsesión– por democratizar la tecnología a través de mostrar que su rigidez es el resultado de procesos sociales “endurecidos” usualmente disfrazados bajo justificaciones técnicas, y por ende capaces de ser modi- ficados en las condiciones apropiadas. Su peregrinar por ocupaciones y campos del co- nocimiento lo encontró como pionero de la llamada “Nueva Sociología de la Tecnología” a principios de la década del ochenta. La conversación que a continuación presentamos repasa tanto los cambios que desde entonces han tenido lugar en su pensamiento acer- ca de los estudios sociales de la tecnología, como las direcciones en que el mismo co- mienza a proyectarse en el futuro. En la actualidad Bijker es Technology” en MIT Press y, hasta profesor de Tecnología y Sociedad, 1997, fue coordinador del Programa y decano de la Facultad de Artes y de Maestría de la Sociedad Cultura, ambos cargos en la Europea de Ciencia, Tecnología y Universidad de Maastricht en Sociedad. Es coeditor –con Thomas Holanda. Asimismo, es coeditor, con Hughes y Trevor Pinch– de The W. Bernard Carlson y Trevor Pinch, Social Construction of Technological de la prestigiosa colección “Inside Systems,1 y –con John Law– de * Entrevista realizada en Ithaca, Nueva York, en mayo de 1997, con motivo de la participación de Bijker en la conferencia “Knowledge and Its Discontents: Science, Expertise and Modernity”, orga- nizada por el Departamento de Estudios de Ciencia y Tecnologia de la Universidad de Cornell. Agra- dezco la colaboración de Wiebe Bijker, Trevor Pinch e Irina Konstantinovsky. ** Graduate Program in Science and Technology Studies, Cornell University. 1 Bijker, W., Hughes, T. y Pinch, T., The Social Construction of Technological Systems: New Direc- tions in the Sociology and History of Technology, Cambridge, MIT Press, 1987. I REDES 89 DOSSIER Shaping Technology/Building secundaria renunció. En ese Society,2 y autor de Of Bycicles, momento había escasez de Bakelites, and Bulbs,3 y de maestros y como la gente de la numerosos artículos en escuela estaba comenzando a publicaciones académicas. desesperarse yo decidí ayudarlos. Nunca antes se me había ocurrido la posibilidad de ser maestro. El primer año fue catastrófico, el Haciendo historia desorden imperaba en el aula y no Pregunta (P): A pesar de que había límites. A pesar de todo usted habla un poco de esto en Of decidí seguir con el trabajo ya que Bycicles, Bakelites and Bulbs, la escuela seguía sin encontrar un quisiera comenzar preguntándole reemplazante, y a partir de ahí las cómo fue que se interesó por los cosas anduvieron mejor y el trabajo Estudios Sociales de la Ciencia y la empezó a gustarme mucho. Tecnología. Cuando terminé mis estudios Wiebe Bijker (WB): Comencé universitarios continué enseñando mis estudios de física en la medio turno y al mismo tiempo Universidad de Tecnología de Delft comencé a estudiar filosofía de la –en Holanda–. Si bien es una ciencia. Durante este período mi universidad tecnológica, la tradición interés por los aspectos sociales del plantel docente era bien teórica, de la ciencia y la tecnología con lo cual para mí es más fácil encontró un lugar tanto en mi labor hablar de física que de ingeniería docente como en mis estudios Aplicada o algo por el estilo. Era filosóficos. En el caso de estos 1969, un año después del Mayo últimos ya que por aquel entonces Francés. El mismo tipo de comenzaba a leer sociología de la movimiento llegó a Holanda, ciencia en un esfuerzo por pensar aunque “a la holandesa”, o sea de acerca de las relaciones entre una forma menos extrema. Cuando ciencia, tecnología y sociedad. En ingresé a la universidad me mi actividad de maestro continué la involucré relativamente rápido en un lucha política dentro de los círculos movimiento estudiantil que docentes, y me involucré en un intentaba incluir temas sociales movimiento que intentaba reformar dentro del currículum científico y el currículum de física en la tecnológico. Luego hubo una escuela secundaria y que tenía el especie de corte cuando un amigo objetivo explícito de poner en mío que enseñaba en una escuela primer plano la relevancia social de 2 Bijker, W. y Law, J., Shaping Technology/Building Society: Studies in Sociotechnical Change, Cam- bridge, MIT Press, 1992. 3 Bijker, W., Of Bicycles, Bakelites, and Bulbs: Toward a Theory of Sociotechnical Change, Cambridge, MIT Press, 1995. I 90 REDES DEL LABORATORIO A LA CIUDAD la disciplina. Al mismo tiempo nivel está el hecho de que mi comencé a escribir manuales de experiencia en la escuela física para nivel medio dentro de secundaria me ha vuelto más una serie editorial que intentaba perceptivo de lo que acontece integrar temas sociales en la durante la adolescencia, y lo transmisión del conocimiento importante que es esa edad para la científico. En cierto sentido era un formación de las ideas que las manual de Estudios de Ciencia y personas tienen acerca de la Tecnología (EST) [Science and ciencia y la tecnología. En ese Technology Studies], pero como sentido, lo que aprendí en mi labor eso no existía explícitamente en el de maestro influye en mi currículum de la escuela pensamiento actual sobre las secundaria, nosotros lo hacíamos posibles iniciativas políticas que bajo el paraguas de la física, la debiéramos discutir para lo que en química y la biología. este momento es mi agenda En 1981 hubo un cambio personal para EST. importante en mis actividades Un tercer efecto que ha tenido cuando nació mi primera hija. Tanto mi paso por la docencia en el nivel mi esposa como yo comenzamos a medio es de un corte más trabajar part-time, y el tiempo existencial que los anteriores. Si restante nos turnábamos para bien ahora ya no tiene influencia cuidar a nuestra hija. Yo suspendí alguna, en su momento fue muy mi actividad docente y empecé a importante en mi relación con trabajar con dedicación parcial en Trevor Pinch. En 1983 Trevor y yo un proyecto de investigación en la habíamos empezado a trabajar Universidad de Twente. juntos y al cabo de unos meses A modo de digresión, yo he habíamos escrito un borrador del pensado bastante sobre cómo mi artículo que fue publicado en Social trabajo de maestro de escuela Studies of Science en 1984.4 Recibí secundaria ha influido en mi una invitación para presentar el desarrollo académico, y he llegado trabajo en un seminario organizado a la conclusión de que es mucho por el Centre National pour la más relevante de lo que la mayoría Recherche Scientifique, en París, y de mis colegas actuales podría en el que iban a estar presentes llegar a darse cuenta. En primer Bruno Latour, Michel Callon, David lugar, me ha ayudado a desarrollar Bloor y Steve Woolgar. La idea era mis habilidades expositivas, a ser que yo lo presentara en francés. capaz de contar historias y explicar Trevor no podía venir porque su temas complejos. En un segundo francés no es muy bueno y porque 4 Pinch, T. y Bijker, W., “The Social Construction of Facts and Artefacts: Or How the Sociology of Science and the Sociology of Technology Might Benefit Each Other”, Social Studies of Science, Vol.14, 1984, pp. 399-441. I REDES 91 DOSSIER no teníamos plata para viajar los especializaciones dentro de la dos. Todavía recuerdo que Trevor ingeniería y distintos tipos de estaba muy nervioso por la innovación en términos de proceso posibilidad de que yo hiciera un y producto. Un criterio que no desastre delante de académicos tan menciono en el libro, pero del que importantes. Yo estaba muy no me avergüenzo, es que yo tranquilo ya que tenía mi “otra vida” necesitaba que en sí mismos los como maestro de la que disfrutaba casos me gustaran, si no me era mucho y a la que podía volver en imposible poner la energía cualquier momento. El final de la necesaria para llevar un estudio de historia es que presenté el trabajo este tipo adelante. El equipo de muy tranquilo, lo cual me permitió investigación estaba compuesto por tener un impacto mucho mayor del Ellen van Oost, Jürgen Bönig, Peter que hubiera tenido en caso de estar Boksma y yo.
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