Science and Technology Studies (STS) theories to analyze the mutual shaping of technology and society.
Socio-technical theories to understand the complex interactions between people, organizations, and technological systems.
Actor-Network Theory (ANT):
Overview: ANT is a relational approach that views humans and non-humans (technologies, objects, etc.) as equally important actors within a network. It challenges the traditional distinctions between humans and technology, recognizing that agency is distributed among all actors within these networks.
Application: ANT is used to understand how technological systems, like urban infrastructure or digital networks, emerge and transform as a result of interactions between human and non-human actors. This method is especially helpful in exploring complex socio-technical systems such as smart cities or automated systems.
Postphenomenology:
Overview: Postphenomenology explores how technologies mediate human experiences and alter human perception of the world. Unlike traditional phenomenology, which centers on human experience alone, postphenomenology emphasizes how technologies actively shape this experience.
Application: It is used to analyze how tools like augmented reality or medical devices influence the way users perceive space, time, or even their own bodies. This methodology highlights the co-constitution of humans and technology.
Feminist Technoscience:
Overview: Feminist technoscience critiques how gender, power, and social dynamics are embedded in technological development and use. It emphasizes inclusivity, ethics, and the social justice implications of technologies, questioning whose voices and values are represented in technological advancements.
Application: Feminist technoscience is especially relevant in studies involving biotechnologies, reproductive technologies, and AI, where it investigates how technologies either perpetuate or challenge societal inequalities, including gender and racial biases.
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA):
Overview: CDA focuses on how power, ideology, and inequality are communicated and reproduced through language and discourse, including the discourse surrounding technological development. It critiques the narratives that frame technologies, which often reinforce power imbalances.
Application: CDA is used to investigate how technological systems, such as AI or social media, are discussed in political, social, and media environments. It uncovers the underlying power structures embedded in technological discourse and how these shape public perception and policy.
Agential Realism:
Overview: Agential Realism, developed by Karen Barad, is a posthumanist framework that argues that human and non-human actors co-create reality through their interactions. It challenges traditional separations between subject and object, emphasizing that knowledge production is inherently material and discursive.
Application: This framework is useful for analyzing how technologies, scientific practices, and humans are entangled in the production of knowledge and social realities. It applies particularly well to complex environments like data systems, where human interactions with digital infrastructures constantly reconfigure the boundaries of agency.
In techno-anthropology and Science and Technology Studies (STS), analytical frameworks serve as structured approaches to investigate complex phenomena involving human-technology interactions. These frameworks help organize research by providing theoretical tools and perspectives that deconstruct relationships between social actors, technologies, and broader systems.
Key Components of Analytical Frameworks
Theoretical Lenses:
Frameworks begin by selecting theoretical lenses that shape how researchers interpret their subject matter. The key theories mentioned above (ANT, Postphenomenology, Feminist Technoscience, CDA, and Agential Realism) provide various perspectives for exploring human-technology relations.
Focus of Analysis:
Frameworks help focus analysis on key socio-technical dimensions such as:
Power and Politics: Who controls technology, and how does it reinforce or challenge existing power structures?
Ethical Implications: What are the moral dilemmas surrounding technological development and usage?
Cultural Practices: How does technology influence and is influenced by cultural norms, values, and practices?
Agency and Autonomy: How much autonomy do humans retain in the face of increasingly complex technological systems like AI?
Methodological Tools:
Common methodological tools include:
Ethnography: Immersive research in technological environments, observing human-technology interactions in situ.
Surveys and Interviews: Capturing human experiences, perceptions, and attitudes toward technology.
Data Analysis: Studying digital interactions, system logs, or other data generated by technological systems to understand behavior and functionality.
Levels of Analysis:
Micro-level: Investigates individual interactions with specific technologies (e.g., how users experience a mobile application).
Meso-level: Explores organizational or community-level dynamics, such as how workplaces adapt to automation technologies.
Macro-level: Examines broader societal trends, such as the societal impact of AI-driven decision-making systems on employment.
When applying Actor-Network Theory to a smart city project:
The analysis would identify both human actors (city planners, residents) and non-human actors (sensor networks, AI algorithms).
It would examine how these actors interact to shape urban governance and daily life. For example, predictive algorithms might influence traffic management, redistributing agency between human planners and AI systems.
