Steve Woolgar
Encyclopedia
Stephen Woolgar is a British sociologist
. He has worked closely with Bruno Latour
, with whom he co-authored Laboratory Life: the Social Construction of Scientific Facts
(1979).
He has been Professor of Sociology and Head of the Department of Human Sciences and Director of CRICT (Centre for Research into Innovation, Culture and Technology) at Brunel University
. He holds the Chair of Sociology and Marketing and is Professor of Marketing at the University of Oxford
and a fellow of Green Templeton College. He is also Director of Science and Technology Studies within Oxford's Institute for Science, Innovation and Society. He is an important contributor in the fields of Science Studies
, sociology of scientific knowledge
(SSK) and the Science and technology studies
(STS) (especially on the topic of sociology of machines). Stephen Woolgar is a recipient of the Bernal Prize in 2008 awarded annually by the Society for Social Studies of Science to an individual judged to have made a distinguished contribution to the field.
Stephen Woolgar holds a B.A (First Class Honours) in Engineering from the University of Cambridge and a DPhil in Sociology also from the University of Cambridge.
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. He has worked closely with Bruno Latour
Bruno Latour
Bruno Latour is a French sociologist of science and anthropologist and an influential theorist in the field of Science and Technology Studies...
, with whom he co-authored Laboratory Life: the Social Construction of Scientific Facts
Laboratory Life
Laboratory Life: The Social Construction of Scientific Facts is a 1979 book by sociologists of science Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar.This influential book in the field of science studies presents an anthropological study of Roger Guillemin's scientific laboratory at the Salk Institute...
(1979).
He has been Professor of Sociology and Head of the Department of Human Sciences and Director of CRICT (Centre for Research into Innovation, Culture and Technology) at Brunel University
Brunel University
Brunel University is a public research university located in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom. The university is named after the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel....
. He holds the Chair of Sociology and Marketing and is Professor of Marketing at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and a fellow of Green Templeton College. He is also Director of Science and Technology Studies within Oxford's Institute for Science, Innovation and Society. He is an important contributor in the fields of Science Studies
Science studies
Science studies is an interdisciplinary research area that seeks to situate scientific expertise in a broad social, historical, and philosophical context. It is concerned with the history of academic disciplines, the interrelationships between science and society, and the alleged covert purposes...
, sociology of scientific knowledge
Sociology of scientific knowledge
The 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."...
(SSK) and the Science and technology studies
Science and technology studies
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...
(STS) (especially on the topic of sociology of machines). Stephen Woolgar is a recipient of the Bernal Prize in 2008 awarded annually by the Society for Social Studies of Science to an individual judged to have made a distinguished contribution to the field.
Stephen Woolgar holds a B.A (First Class Honours) in Engineering from the University of Cambridge and a DPhil in Sociology also from the University of Cambridge.
Main works
Originally published 1979 in Los Angeles, by Sage PublicationsSAGE Publications
SAGE is an independent academic publisher of books, journals, and electronic products in the humanities and social sciences and the scientific, technical, and medical fields. SAGE was founded in 1965 by George McCune and Sara Miller McCune. The company is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California,...
- Science: the Very Idea, Routledge, 1988.
- (ed.), Knowledge and Reflexivity edited, Sage, 1988.
- with Steve Fuller and M. de Mey (eds), The Cognitive Turn: sociological and psychological perspectives on science, Kluwer, 1989.
- with Michael Lynch (eds), Representation in Scientific Practice, MIT, 1990.
- with K. Grint, The Machine at Work: technology, organisation and work, Polity/Blackwell, 1997.
- Virtual Society? technology, cyberbole, reality, Oxford University Press, 2002.