Appropriating Technology

Vernacular Science and Social Power

2004

Ron Eglash, Jennifer L. Croissant, Giovanna Di Chiro, and Rayvon Fouché, editors

Explores how outsiders reinvent, rethink, and apply new technology in often subversive ways

This is the first study of how “outsiders” reinvent consumer products—often in ways that embody critique, resistance, or outright revolt.

Contributors: Richard M. Benjamin, Hank Bromley, Massimiano Bucchi, Carmen M. Concepción, Virginia Eubanks, Lisa Gitelman, David Albert, Mhadi Goldberg, Samuel M. Hampton, Michael K. Heiman, Linda Price King, Valerie Kuletz, Lisa Jean Moore, Brian Martin Murphy, Paul Rosen, Michael Scarce, Peter Taylor.

From the vernacular engineering of Latino car design to environmental analysis among rural women, to the production of indigenous herbal cures—groups outside the centers of scientific power persistently defy the notion that they are merely passive recipients of technological products and scientific knowledge. This is the first study of how such “outsiders” reinvent consumer products—often in ways that embody critique, resistance, or outright revolt.

Contributors: Richard M. Benjamin, Miami U; Hank Bromley, SUNY, Buffalo; Massimiano Bucchi, U of Trento, Italy; Carmen M. Concepción, U of Puerto Rico; Virginia Eubanks, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Lisa Gitelman, Catholic U; David Albert Mhadi Goldberg, California College of Arts and Crafts; Samuel M. Hampton; Michael K. Heiman, Dickinson College; Linda Price King; Valerie Kuletz; Lisa Jean Moore, College of Staten Island, CUNY; Brian Martin Murphy, Niagra U; Paul Rosen, U of York; Michael Scarce, Peter Taylor, U of Massachusetts, Boston; Turtle Heart.


Ron Eglash is associate professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Jennifer Croissant is associate professor at the University of Arizona.

Giovanna Di Chiro is visiting assistant professor at Mount Holyoke College.

Rayvon Fouché is assistant professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

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