Technology has certainly had an impact on the history of man. Not only have the devices and processes that have emerged from advancements in technology had their effect so has the relationship of technology to politics, economics, science, and the arts. Technology has affected how man interacts with man and as history is a record of man's interactions with each other technology has affected history.
Not surprisingly, historians have adopted different approaches to examining the effect that technology has on history. Essentially, two approaches have emerged to dominate the field: technological determinism and social constructionism.
The essence of technological determinism is that it is the introduction of new technology changes society and that these changes are often unexpected. For example, proponents of technology determinism would argue that the introduction of printing changed society from one driven by oral communication into a society driven by writing and literacy or that the...
Technological determinists believe that it is technology that drives economic forces in society and that it is the economic forces in society that shape society. Therefore, it is also technological determinism that also shapes society.
Critics of technological determinism have gained recognition in recent years. Their chief argument is that such approach is far too simplistic and ignores the interrelationship between society and technology. In response to these criticisms has emerged the social constructionism approach. Social constructionism…
