The Critical Turn: Social Construction and New Narratives in Science and Technology History

By the 1960s, public attitudes toward science and technology shifted from general optimism to profound criticism, mirroring broader social movements like civil rights and anti-colonial struggles. The publication of Rachel Carson’s "Silent Spring" (1962) became a seminal critique of unchecked technological progress. This critical perspective deeply influenced historiography, leading scholars to problematize earlier valorizations and question the inherent neutrality of technoscientific advancement.

Within the history of science, the decade saw both professional evolution and theoretical revolution. Large-scale surveys gave way to focused monographs and major editorial projects, such as the "Dictionary of Scientific Biography". The most dramatic shift came from Thomas Kuhn’s "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" (1962). Kuhn challenged positivist, progressive models by introducing concepts like "paradigm shifts" and "normal science", arguing scientific change was discontinuous and influenced by factors beyond pure logic, including generational change and extra-scientific considerations.

Kuhn’s work, while inspired by idealistic predecessors like Alexandre Koyré, opened the door to examining external influences. The republication of Robert K. Merton’s 1938 monograph in 1970 revitalized the "internal vs. external" debate. Concurrently, in the history of technology, Lynn White Jr.’s "Medieval Technology and Social Change" (1962) provided a new narrative style, arguing for technology's central role in driving feudal and economic transformations in the Middle Ages, despite criticisms of technological determinism.

The 1970s saw the rise of the "Sociology of Scientific Knowledge" (SSK), often called the Edinburgh School. Pioneered by David Bloor, its "strong programme" sought causal explanations for scientific beliefs, maintaining impartiality toward their truth or falsity. This approach treated scientific knowledge as "socially constructed", examining how power, authority, and community interests shaped practices. A landmark work was Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer’s "Leviathan and the Air-Pump" (1985), which analyzed the social and political construction of experimental culture in Restoration England.

Constructivist approaches extended to technology through the "Social Construction of Technology" (SCOT) movement. It challenged linear models of invention and application, arguing that social factors determine technological outcomes. The foundational text, "The Social Construction of Technological Systems" (1987), featured work by key figures like Wiebe Bijker, Trevor Pinch, and Thomas P. Hughes. Hughes, a bridge figure, introduced influential concepts like "reverse salients" and "large technological systems" in works such as "Networks of Power" (1984).

Further radical analysis emerged from "Actor-Network Theory" (ANT) developed by Bruno Latour, Michel Callon, and John Law. ANT posited that both human and non-human "actants" (instruments, institutions, researchers) form networked alliances in "technoscientific" knowledge production, denying epistemic priority to any single element. By the 1980s and 1990s, many historians sought a middle ground through "contextual history", which synthesizes a deep understanding of the technical content with full appreciation of the shaping political, social, and cultural forces. This approach acknowledged that rigorous histories had always integrated these dimensions.