Wiebe Bijker
Encyclopedia
Wiebe E. Bijker is a Dutch
professor, chair of the Department of Social Science and Technology at Maastricht University in the Netherlands
.
Bijker's father was an engineer involved in implementing the Delta Plan
after a disastrous dike breach in the Netherlands in 1953 when young Bijker was two years old. The father later became deputy director of the Delft Hydraulics Laboratory. Presumably, the unique fact of parts of the Netherlands being below sea level, the well-known concerns in innovation surrounding this condition for centuries, and his father's involvement all contributed to the younger Bijker's interest in technology studies.
After finishing Gymnasium
in Emmeloord
(1969), the younger Bijker received his BSc
degree in philosophy from the University of Amsterdam (1974), his engineer's degree
in physical engineering from the Delft University of Technology
(1976), and his PhD
degree from the University of Twente in 1990. He was an assistant and associate professor of philosophy from 1987 at the Maastricht University before becoming full professor of technology and society in 1994.
Bijker's fields of research include social and historical studies of science, technology and society
; theories of technology development; methodology of science, technology and society studies; democratisation of technological culture; science and technology policies; ICT, multimedia and the social-cultural dimensions of the information society; gender and technology; and meta studies of architecture, planning, and civil engineering.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
professor, chair of the Department of Social Science and Technology at Maastricht University in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Bijker's father was an engineer involved in implementing the Delta Plan
Delta Works
The Delta Works is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta from the sea. The works consist of dams, sluices, locks, dikes, levees, and storm surge barriers...
after a disastrous dike breach in the Netherlands in 1953 when young Bijker was two years old. The father later became deputy director of the Delft Hydraulics Laboratory. Presumably, the unique fact of parts of the Netherlands being below sea level, the well-known concerns in innovation surrounding this condition for centuries, and his father's involvement all contributed to the younger Bijker's interest in technology studies.
After finishing Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Emmeloord
Emmeloord
Emmeloord is the administrative center of the municipality of Noordoostpolder, Flevoland, Netherlands.At the heart of the Noordoostpolder, where the three main drainage canals intersect, is the city of Emmeloord . Emmeloord is in a polder: land reclaimed from the IJsselmeer, which earlier was part...
(1969), the younger Bijker received his BSc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in philosophy from the University of Amsterdam (1974), his engineer's degree
Engineer's degree
An engineer's degree is an advanced academic degree in engineering that is conferred in Europe, some countries of Latin America, and a few institutions in the United States....
in physical engineering from the Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology , also known as TU Delft, is the largest and oldest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands...
(1976), and his PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
degree from the University of Twente in 1990. He was an assistant and associate professor of philosophy from 1987 at the Maastricht University before becoming full professor of technology and society in 1994.
Bijker's fields of research include social and historical studies of science, technology and society
Science, technology and society
Science, technology and society is the study of how social, political, and cultural values affect scientific research and technological innovation, and how these, in turn, affect society, politics and culture...
; theories of technology development; methodology of science, technology and society studies; democratisation of technological culture; science and technology policies; ICT, multimedia and the social-cultural dimensions of the information society; gender and technology; and meta studies of architecture, planning, and civil engineering.
Main works
- Co-editor with Thomas P. HughesThomas P. HughesThomas Parke Hughes is an American Historian of Technology. He is an emeritus professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and is a visiting professor at MIT and Stanford.He received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in 1953....
and Trevor PinchTrevor PinchTrevor J. Pinch is a sociologist and former chair of the Science and Technology Studies department at Cornell University.Pinch has a degree in Physics from the Imperial College London and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Bath...
, The Social Construction of Technological Systems: New Directions in the Sociology and History of Technology, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1987. - Co-editor with John Law, Shaping Technology/Building Society: Studies in sociotechnical change, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992.
- Of bicycles, bakelites and bulbs: Toward a Theory of Sociotechnical Change, Cambridge, MA; London MIT Press, 1995.
- Co-editor with Marc van Lieshout and Tineke M. Egyedi, Social learning technologies: the introduction of multimedia in education, Aldershot: Ashgate, 2001.
- Co-author with Roland Bal, Ruud Hendriks, The paradox of scientific authority: the role of scientific advice in democracies, Cambridge: MIT Press, 2009.
See also
- Science and technology studiesScience and technology studiesScience, technology and society is the study of how social, political, and cultural values affect scientific research and technological innovation, and how these, in turn, affect society, politics and culture...
- Social construction of technologySocial construction of technologySocial construction of technology is a theory within the field of Science and Technology Studies. Advocates of SCOT -- that is, social constructivists -- argue that technology does not determine human action, but that rather, human action shapes technology...
- Sociology of scientific knowledgeSociology of scientific knowledgeThe sociology of scientific knowledge ' is the study of science as a social activity, especially dealing "with the social conditions and effects of science, and with the social structures and processes of scientific activity."...