The Seamless Web: Technology, Science, Etcetera, Etcetera

Abstract

Over the past two decades or so, historians of science have lamented the limitations of internalist history and celebrated the rise of contextual history. Historians of technology, however, have not accepted the location, by historians of science, of technology within the context of science. Historians of technology see an interaction, rather than contextual dependency. A few historians and sociologists of science and technology are now suggesting `networks' and `systems' as the preferred version of the interactive approach, with the interaction occurring not simply between science and technology, but also among a host of actors and institutions. Networks and systems eliminate many categories in favour of a `seamless web', which may lead to a new appreciation of the complex narrative style.