Appropriating Technology

Book excerpt: From the vernacular engineering of Latino car design to environmental analysis among rural women to the production of indigenous herbal cures-groups outside the centers of scientific power persistently defy the notion that they are merely passive recipients of technological products and scientific knowledge. This is the first study of how such "outsiders" reinvent consumer products-often in ways that embody critique, resistance, or outright revolt.Contributors: Richard M. Benjamin, Miami U; Hank Bromley, SUNY, Buffalo; Massimiano Bucchi, U of Trento, Italy; Carmen M. Concepcin, U of Puerto Rico; Virginia Eubanks, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Lisa Gitelman, Catholic U; David Albert Mhadi Goldberg, California College of Arts and Crafts; Samuel M. Hampton; Michael K. Heiman, Dickinson College; Linda Price King; Valerie Kuletz; Lisa Jean Moore, College of Staten Island, CUNY; Brian Martin Murphy, Niagra U; Paul Rosen, U of York; Michael Scarce, Peter Taylor, U of Massachusetts, Boston; Turtle Heart.Ron Eglash is assistant professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Jennifer Croissant is associate professor at the University of California. Giovanna Di Chiro is assistant professor at Allegheny College. Rayvon Fouch is assistant professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.