TECHNOLOGY & POWER
ICOHTEC 22nd - 27th July 2019 Katowice
Focusing on „Technology and Power” LOC wouldlike to propose a
perspectivethat was not sufficientexplored by ICOHTEC. Topicseems to be very inclusive as
itcoverstechnologyentangled in the internal and foreign policy of statesalong
with the major tasks of the governmentswhich was, is and willremaing for
upcomingdecadesprovidingsecurity and ensuringsustainableeconomic development to
the societies.
The past (especially XX
century) proveshoweverthatstate’sauthoritiestakeadventage of technology not
only in order to enhenceitscitizens’ standard of living,
but also to controltheir live and evenharassthem in necessary.
On the
other hand one can put accent on the positive ways of using technology for the
state and social purposes. Application of innovative solutions for the purpose of protectingnatural
environmental or national health care’s program are
probably among the most obvious functions of the modern governments.
The International Committee for the History of Technology’s 46th Symposium in Katowice, Poland, 22 – 27 July 2019.
Deadline for proposals is 18 February 2019.
Social theorists from Max Weber to Jürgen Habermas have argued that power relations are among the defining characteristics of every society, along with culture and economic relations. The main theme of this conference, Technology and Power, seeks to interrogate the various roles technologies have played in the development of power relations in the past, in different parts of the world. Political power (local, state, and inter-state) is the most obvious of these, but relations of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, labour, age, and so on, also include elements of power. Technologies have instrumental, mediating, undermining, reinforcing, and constructive roles in all of these relations. Some technologies have been used by elites, others have served the relatively powerless. Think of weapons as means of state power, but also as instruments of revolution; the printed word as a vehicle of state and church propaganda, but also as a disrupter of all kinds of authority; contraceptive devices and pills that have changed relations between the sexes and in families. Power is usually contested, and technologies often change the chances of those involved in these conflicts.
The recent interest in transnational history has extended the range of these topics and revealed their interconnectedness. Technological change is disrespectful of national borders: technical knowledge and technicians travel, and new technologies of communication and transport transform balances of trade and power on a worldwide scale. We have only begun to explore these global dimensions, and the symposium will offer the opportunity to push this project forward.
The 46th Symposium of the International Committee for the History of
Technology (ICOHTEC) will take place at the Faculty of Social Sciences -
University of Silesia.
Address:
University of Silesia
Faculty of Social Sciences
ul. Bankowa 11
40-007 Katowice
Poland