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Chapter Summary
To comprehend fully how technology and society intersect in our modern society, we need to first take a look at the history of technology. The aim of Chapter 2 is to provide a broad overview of this history by tracing the roots of technological development, discussing key periods of technological innovation, and outlining our present-day high-tech society. Technology is the strongest force of change in society and, as such, its development, transformation, and diffusion directly shape many aspects of society, such as work, community, and social relationships. We examine these technological transformations over time and demonstrate the impacts they have had on past societies. This chapter further attempts to link technologies, inventors, and historical moments to provide an in-depth examination of the socio-political context in which technologies emerge. Chapter 2 shows how technology is ingrained in society, affecting all aspects of our lives, and outlines the merits of taking a sociological perspective when studying the history of technology.
Learning Objectives
In this chapter, you should learn to do the following:
- to obtain a broad overview of the history of technology;
- to critically examine in a historical context how technology and society have mutually shaped each other;
- to provide an alternative view of the history of technology by taking a sociological perspective of technological transformations;
- to learn about how digital tools have led to the development of a high-tech society characterized by customization, individualism, and privatization.