West campus news Releases Archive

ASU associate professor Greg Wise coauthors primer on culture and technology

Nov. 22, 2005

Book examines the role of technology in shaping society

Technology is progress. Or is it? That’s the primary question posed in “Culture and Technology” a new book coauthored by Greg Wise, associate professor and chair of the communication studies department  in the College of Human Services at Arizona State University’s West campus.

The book explores the history of technology and provides new perspectives regarding the pros and cons of technology’s benefit to society. Advances such as genetically modified foods, the Internet, caller ID, text messaging and surveillance activities have all changed our lives. Throughout history, groups such as the Luddites of the 19^th century and more recently, individuals like the Unabomber, have called technology into question, often violently. In the 1970s, the appropriate technology movement proposed more technologies on a human scale as alternatives to mainstream technology. The questions these groups raise have implications for us all, regardless of their methods.

“As a society, we assume technological advancements are inevitable and that they are good because they represent progress and make our lives more convenient,” said Wise. “This is a driving force in our culture. We’re not necessarily for or against technology. But we do think there are questions that need to be asked and ideas and assumptions that need to be tested.”

Wise collaborated with Jennifer Daryl Slack, professor of communication and cultural studies at Michigan Technological University, after the two had been searching for resources on the link between technology and culture. When they found that there were no books that synthesized this information and addressed new issues of space, identity and the politics of technology, they decided to write a primer for those beginning to think about these issues, as well as those who have been pondering these questions for years.

Said Wise, “I think we have a tendency to leave these decisions to the experts. But shouldn’t we have a say in whether we want these sorts of changes in our lives?”

This is Wise’s second book. His first, “Exploring Technology and Social Space,” was published in 1997. He has contributed to the second edition of a textbook “Media Making” which was also recently released. And, he is working on a book about the cultural dimensions of globalization. Much of Wise’s research and teaching focuses on the ways in which technology shapes society.

“As a researcher, I’m most interested in the ways technology fits into our everyday lives, sometimes without us even realizing it,” he said. “There are so many cultural and philosophical questions to think about. Once technology is in place, it’s tough to take it away. Therefore, I think we should think through things and look at them from different perspectives before we keep going further and further with technology.”

“Culture and Technology” was published by the Peter Lang Publishing Group and is available at ASU’s West campus bookstore, as well as on-line and by special order.

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