[Air-L] Technology as ideologically neutral?

[Robert Kozinets]

Hi Charles, and AoIRists,

This is a terrific bibliography already. I grappled with a very similar
concern a few years ago in the context of technology consumption, read
many/most of the works cited here, and wrote an article directly on this
point. Here is the reference:

 Kozinets, Robert V. (2008), “Technology/Ideology: How Ideological Fields
Influence Consumers’ Technology Narratives.” *Journal of Consumer Research*,
34 (April), 864-881.

The paper's references also offer some additional new readings beyond those
mentioned here.

If anyone would like a pdf of the paper, email me directly and I'd be happy
to send it.

Best Regards,
Rob.

-- 
Robert V. Kozinets
Professor of Marketing, Chair of Marketing Dept.
Schulich School of Business--York University
4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON Canada M3J 1P3
Office: +1 416-736-2100 x. 20513
Brandthroposophy: http://www.kozinets.net
On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 9:48 AM, Charles Ess <charles.ess at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear AoIRists,
> I'm trying to gather both accessible and, to some degree, "landmark" or
> foundational literature that can be used to (gently) challenge a view I
> keep
> encountering in certain circles lately - namely, that technology in general
> and the Internet in particular is "ideologically neutral".
>
> Such a view was around in the U.S. in the early days of the Internet - but
> countered in at least two ways; those who took up Social Construction of
> Technology and related theory from ST studies, including discussion of
> "affordances", etc. - and then the very ideological claims (roughly:
> California libertarian technological utopianism) that went from claims such
> as "the internet interprets censorship as damage, and routes around it" to
> claims that the Internet embedded and fostered specially U.S. (neoliberal)
> values of individualism, freedom of expression, and free market capitalism.
>
> For better and for worse, however, my impression is that in our
> communities,
> at least, the recognition that the technologies embed and foster specific
> cultural values and communicative preferences (as I like to put it on the
> basis of the CATaC conferences) has been more or less a given for quite
> some
> time.  Hence, having to re-visit and re-establish these understandings for
> those for whom this recognition is apparently quite new is a bit of a
> challenge.
>
> Any suggestions for literature, etc., would be most appreciated.
>
> Many thanks in advance,
> - charles ess
> --
> Until August 31, 2012: Professor MSO
> Media Studies, Institute for Aesthetics and Communication
> Aarhus University
> Helsingforsgade 14
> 8200 Aarhus
> Denmark
>
> From 1. Sept. 2012: Associate Professor in Media Studies
> Department of Media and Communication
> Forskningsparken II
> Gaustadalléen 21
> 0349  Oslo  Norway
>
> Lifetime member, AoIR
>
> ³At vove er at miste fodfæstet for en stund, ikke at vove er at miste
> sig selv² [To dare is to lose your footing for an hour; not to dare is to
> lose yourself] - Kierkegaard
>
>
>
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