Techniekgeschiedenis in Nederland (TIN): de voorgeschiedenis van een project

Abstract

Technology in the Netherlands (TIN): the (pre)history of a project The research project at Eindhoven Technical University on the history of technology and industrialization in the Netherlands 1800-1890, that culminated in the series which is the subject of the present special issue, built on several case studies carried out at Eindhoven Technical University between 1978 and 1983, and on the results of two other Dutch research groups investigating the history of technology. (1) The Leiden-Delft team of sociologists, philosophers, and historians who authored the textbook Het technisch labyrint (1981) inspired the Eindhoven scholars to investigate macro transformations such as the industrial revolution(s), and to write a broad social history of technology. (2) From the study group at Twente Technical University based around Peter Boskma and Wiebe Bijker (1978-1982), the Eindhoven team took the idea that technology is socially constructed, and that the evolution of technology can be studied by investigating variation and selection processes at the micro level of actors and social groups. A sketch of the history of the Eindhoven-project after 1983 demonstrates the tension between these two different perspectives (macro vs. micro; structural vs. interactionist) playing a role in every stage of the project and still showing in the volumes under review.