Digital transformations Encyclopedia entry

Annika Richterich and I were invited to contribute to a new Elgar Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Studies on the topic of ‘digital transformations’. We begin with an historical overview of how digital technologies came to STS scholarly attention. Early on, STS researchers focused on the development and use of digital technologies in scientific, corporate and governmental settings. Domestic and civil society concerns received attention much later. The entry contains three sections, addressing: digital infrastructure; digital divides and inequalities; and normative issues. Such issues range from the role of big tech corporate power to feminist discussions about the possibilities of digital technologies to counter and/or reinforce patriarchal relations. The entry concludes with a discussion of imaginaries and possible futures.

The editors, Ulrike Felt (University of Vienna) and Alan Irwin (Copenhagen Business School), have brought together a wide range of scholars to produce a volume of 62 chapters and 642 pages. It is divided into three parts: Frames, Themes and Stories. There are entries on different STS methods and theories, including everything from actor-network theory to postcolonial STS to citizen science, plus infrastructures, energy, healthcare, indigenous knowledges, feminism, futures and cities. It should be a very useful resource for students and others new to STS.