I am very happy to announce the publication of an anthology edited by Marina Maestrutti and me, covering the relation between technology and the imaginary. It is the result of the conference L’Imaginaire et les Techniques that had been organized by us in Paris in late 2013.
Fabian Kröger et Marina Maestrutti (dir.),
Les Imaginaires et les Techniques,
Presses des Mines, Collection Sciences de la conception,
Paris 2018.
The contributions on the imaginary and technology presented in this book offer different and varied approaches, sometimes in contrast and nevertheless in dialogue, on the role of the imaginary in the construction of our social representations of techniques.
They show concretely how the imaginary, far from being limited to playing a functional role in order to advance or accept innovation, contributes to a profound and sometimes contradictory questioning of technological evolutions in all their complexity.
The various contributions
- analyze the transformations of the imaginary of technical objects in the different stages of innovation (airplanes, robots, autonomous cars, medical imaging, etc.),
- trace the imaginary setting of technical objects in visual culture (posters, cinema) and literature,
- question the role of the imaginary in conception and design,
- question the relationship between myths and techno-imaginaries as well as the metaphorization of technical catastrophes.
This volume provides a current overview of the research on the imaginary of technology by crossing socio-anthropology, philosophy, history of technology, information and communication sciences, as well as literature.
By focusing on the symbolism of technology through history and cultural contexts, the book contributes to “putting into culture” and “into society” ancient, contemporary and emerging technologies.
This book is the result of a cooperation between University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, MINES ParisTech and ENSCI.
