Understanding the Social and Cultural Dynamics of Science and Technology: A Social Sciences Approach for Understanding Science and Technology in Relation to Society and Culture

Abstract

This approach seeks to formalize the study of impact of science on society, and institute it as a robust discipline within the social sciences. Among the fundamental constituent principles of this paper is that this approach could be gainfully employed for both science and technology, and the differentiation between the two could sometimes be razor thin. Secondly, it is important to note that not all technologies or scientific paradigms impact society in the same way, or different sections and segments of society in the same way. Therefore, the very nature of the technology, the vertical percolation of science within society needs to be studied along with its spatial spread. Furthermore, the percolation of science and technology across societies may vary, along with its spatial spread within a society. These factors must be juxtaposed with the very nature of a given culture, its more, norms, receptivity, along with a study of cults, ideologies, and dogmas associated with that culture. We hope and expect that this paper which extends the concepts of our previously published paper on the “sociology of science”, would become a vibrant and emergent field of study in social and cultural anthropology, and would also be allied inalienably with our globalization of science movement. Although similar programs exist (these are also reviewed), we believe our approach will take such studies one step further, because it is social science based, and extend its aims and objectives as well.