The ideas and examples referenced below are notes compiled by Robert Keel from his reading of Volti, Rudi. 2014. Society and Technological Change. 7th edition. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. They are intended for classroom use.

• Technology is a human creation
• One distinctive feature of the human race is that it creates technologies to extend its natural capabilities

• Technological Determinism is the belief that technology acts as an independent force in our lives and thought.
• If this is true, we have become the servant of technology rather than its master.
• Technology does have a significant impact on almost every area of our lives.
  • Whyte, Lynn. 1974. "Technology Assessment from the Stance of a Medieval Historian." The American Historical Review. Volume 79: 1. Pages 1-13.
• BUT, a purely technological deterministic view is perhaps unwarranted, it takes technological change as a given.

Technological Advance and Cultural Lag

• W. F. Ogburn (Sociologist, 1930’s): Attributed increase of black migration from the South to technology: the automatic stoker.
• Allowed for production of more powerful locomotives (longer trains and the jobs associated with the railroad).
• Developed concept of Cultural Lag: Habits, thoughts, values, and social arrangements often fail to change at the same speed as technological innovation.
  • This theory is not without its flaws:
1. Social, economic, and political processes play a part in technological advance.
2. Demonstrating the connection between technological change and socio-cultural change can be difficult (spread of automobile ownership and sexual behavior in the early 20th century, violence on TV and its influence on behavior, spread of ICTs and the impact on social skills).
3. When does society "catch up"?
   1. Not all technologies are fully accommodated into culture (work and gender roles).
   2. Some technologies reach widespread acceptance quickly, while others languish.
4. Issue of the assumption of a unified socio-cultural system perhaps some groups do not value particular technologies--is this "lag"?
5. Also, the implicit notion that technology is progressive while social cultural elements stand in the way of progress is unrealistic.

Convergence Theory

• Closely associated with technological determinism.
• Opportunities and demands presented by modern technology promote the convergence of all societies toward a single set of social patterns and individual behavior.
  1. Technological development requires a fixed series of steps and stages that all countries must follow.
  2. Technology imposes similar organizational constraints on a society.
  3. In response to technological imperatives, values and behavior patterns reflect the rational approach to life that was described in the first chapter of Volti book.
• Implicit is the expectation that technological advance in non-Western countries will result in cultural homogenization (Modernization Theory).
• "Backward" countries will take on the "superior" technology.
• Some countries, such as China, have had great resistance to this notion: China has overall hostility toward foreign technology.
  • Though China may be opening up, they still resist: "The Great Firewall of China."
• Third World countries often view foreign technology with apprehension as well. They fear it will disrupt traditional values and practices.

Does technology destroy all existing social and cultural patterns?

• This fear is unwarranted to a large extent.
• Japan: has maintained traditional values and beliefs in spite of rapid technological change (Baseball in Japan).
• Brazil: Oil workers hold values more similar to farmers in their country than oil workers in India or Ghana.
• Cultural Hybridization.

"Clearly there are no rigid compulsory relationships between a modern industrial economy and the entirety of its complex, multifaceted environment. Rather there is a wide range of links, direct and indirect, tight and loose, exclusive and partial, and each industrializing society develops its own combination of elements to fit its traditions, possibilities, and circumstances." David Landes (quoted in Volti, page 354)

Technological Change and Social Relationships

• "Society" and "Culture" are not objective, neatly organized entities
• There are dominant groups, subcultural groups, in-groups, and out-groups that influence and are influenced by technology

"In considering the influence that technology in general or any single technology has over human affairs, it is therefore necessary to consider not only the technology and its presumed ‘imperatives,’ but also the key human agents of the technology, the organizations in which they operate, and how these influence the course of technological change." (page 257 4th edition)

• The role of experts and expertise (Chapter 18, continued)

• The impact of organizations (Chapter 19)

• The role of government (Chapter 20)

Questions (pages 363-364):

1. Which 20th Century technology has produced more changes in our lives: Television or Automobile?  What have their consequences been?  Are these consequences solely due to these technologies, or have these technologies interacted with other sources of change?
2. Which technologies seem to confront the greatest amount of cultural lag?  Why?  Are lags necessarily bad?  Do they serve any constructive purpose?
3. All the world's large steel mills, airports, and power plants use very similar technology and look pretty much the same.  Does this suggest the activities that take place inside them are the same?  How might cultural differences manifest themselves?
4. Globalization has enriched our cultural lives and has brought a number of economic benefits. At the same time, it has been the source of a fair number of disruptions, some of them, like lost jobs, quite serious. Should anything be done to restrain globalization? Is it even possible?
5. McDonald's fast food restaurants have spread around the world. They are all about the same--food, decor, ambiance. Is McDonald's a harbinger of a U.S.-based universal world culture? What sort of forces stand in opposition to it?