All articles exploring the imaginary of technology

The contributions on the imaginary and the technology presented in this book offer different and varied approaches, sometimes in contrast but nonetheless in dialogue, to the role of the imaginary in the construction of our social representations of technology. In concrete terms, they show how the imaginary, far from being confined to playing a functional role in advancing or accepting innovation, contributes to a profound and sometimes contradictory questioning of technological developments in all their complexity.

The various contributions analyze the transformations in the imaginations of technical objects in the different stages of innovation (airplanes, robots, autonomous cars, medical imaging, etc.), trace the imagining of technical objects in visual culture (posters, cinema) and literature, question the role of the imaginary in conception and design, examine the relationship between myths and techno-imaginaries as well as the metaphorization of technical catastrophes.

This volume provides an overview of current research into the imaginary of technology, combining socio-anthropology, philosophy, the history of technology, information and communication sciences and literature. By focusing on the symbolism of technology throughout history and cultural contexts, the book helps to “put into culture” and “into society” ancient, contemporary and emerging technologies.