Review

Reviewed Work(s): Technoculture: The Key Concepts by Debra Benita Shaw

Source: Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 38, No. 3 (May, 2009), p. 294
Published by: American Sociological Association
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20617328
Accessed: 11-05-2020 17:37 UTC

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms

American Sociological Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and

extend access to Contemporary Sociology

This content downloaded from 200.163.154.249 on Mon, 11 May 2020 17:37:32 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
294 Briefly Noted

states. The book is divided into four sections.

Technoculture: The Key Concepts, by Debra
In Part One, four chapters are devoted to the
Benita Shaw. New York, NY: Berg
cultural foundations of the welfare state.
Publishers, 2008. 205pp. $24.95 paper. ISBN:
Kersbergen and Kremlin explore the role of
9781845202989.
conservatism and the development of the
welfare state, while O'Conner and Robinson
While societies have always been affected by
focus on the influence of liberalism. Stjerno
their technologies, contemporary Western
identifies social democratic values underly
societies have incorporated advanced tech
ing the notion of a welfare state, while
nologies into core aspects of their cultures. In
Opielka sees Christian values as a major con
Technoculture, Debra Shaw critically explores
tributor to the rise of the welfare state. In Part
the technological aspects of culture and its
expression in political, economic, and aes Two, three chapters offer comparative case
thetic aspects of social life.
studies to contrast Western European wel
The reader is invited to join Shaw on a fare states with welfare states in America,
tour of cultural studies of technology, touch
East-Central Europe, and the Asian welfare
ing on topics such as technological deter states of Japan and Korea. Part Three is con
minism, the ideology of technological cerned with cultural change and welfare
progress, the function of technology in capi reform. Pfau-Effinger argues that competing
talism, body-technology interdependence, liberal and family values can be a source of
how the lens of technoculture structures our path-breaks in welfare state development,
perceptions of space, among many others. while Hvinden focuses on the values of pol
Drawing on cultural theorists from the post icy elites. Clarke and Fink consider the desta
modern paradigm, such as Bauldrillard, bilizing influence of sub-national and supra
Deleuze, and Derrida, Technoculture argues national processes and institutions on
that the metanarrative associated with the nation-based welfare models. In Part Four,
technoscientific establishment, which has three chapters provide a broad empirical
been the dominant paradigm of human overview of popular welfare values and
progress throughout the twentieth century, beliefs in Western European nations. These
falters when the influences of technology in include beliefs about the "scope-of-govern
everyday life are given thoughtful consider ment", worth of government support among
ation. elderly, sick, unemployed, and immigrant
Shaw's Technoculture is an ideal text for citizens, and female work and care-giving
introducing advanced undergraduate or values.
graduate students to cultural studies of tech
nology. Each of the seven chapters includes a
brief summary, and appended to the main Biosocial Criminology: New Directions in Theory
body of the text is a list of suggested further and Research, edited by Anthony Walsh and
readings, as well as topics for essays and Kevin M. Beaver. New York, NY: Routledge,
class discussions. Those beginning a foray 2008. 285pp. $45.95 paper. ISBN:
into the vital world of technocultural studies 9780415989442.
could hardly find a more inspiring book.
Biosocial Criminology is an introduction to
research on the biological aspects of criminal
Culture and Welfare State: Values and Social behavior. The aims of this volume are to per
Policy in Comparative Perspective, edited by suade the reader to consider biological expla
Wim van Oorschot, Michael Opielka, and nations as valuable to the study of criminal
Birgit Pfau-Effinger. Northhampton, MA. behavior, and to present the current state of
Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc, 2008. 322 pp. theory and research in the field. In the pref
$140.00 cloth. ISBN: 9781845423896. ace the traditional sociological paradigm (in
which the majority of research on the subject
Culture and Welfare State offers an historical is currently performed) is criticized on two
and comparative perspective on the relation grounds: 1) it fails to account for the human
ship between culture and welfare state mind (which is argued to be essential for
regimes in Western and Northern European understanding behavior), and 2) it fails to

Contemporary Sociology 38, 3

This content downloaded from 200.163.154.249 on Mon, 11 May 2020 17:37:32 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms