De bijdrage van de techniekgeschiedenis aan de geschiedenis van Nederland. Een reactie op Karel Davids en Geert Vanpaemel

Abstract

The project to write the history of technology in the Netherlands in the twentieth century, which was successfully closed in 2003, aimed at writing a new history of Dutch society. Therefore, it should not be seen only as a history of technology but also as a more general history integrating economic, political, social and cultural aspects. To realize such a history, authors adopted a contextual approach, wherein the interconnectedness of context and technology is put central in the analysis. Technological development is explained through following the actors. By doing so, the often neglected political and social role of engineers and technicians is elucidated. However, the project results also show that a broad range of other actors, including consumers, have shaped the transformation of Dutch society through technical change. Although actors and their choices are put central, contrary to many constructivist approaches, they are systematically put in their structuring context. The project had one major bias, it accepted the nation-state as the primary unit of analysis. In a follow-up of the project, on the role of technology in European integration, we have chosen a transnational orientation.