The Canadian Journal of Sociology

In the words of the author, the purpose of this second edition of Technology and Society is threefold: "1) to reacquaint the present cohort of readers with the rich Canadian tradition in research on technology and society, 2) to deal with technology over a broad selection of issues, and 3) to be oriented explicitly to this country while not losing sight of the global scale of technology" (10). The book is comprised of eleven chapters organized into three sections: 1) Human Beings and Technology: Basic Relationships, 2) Some Consequences of Technology, 3) The Evaluative Dimension. The chapters range in length from 34 pages to a 4-page concluding chapter; most of them average around 25 pages. Goyder's principal audience is "undergraduate students" (10), and so he has included an eight-page Glossary. Unfortunately, there is no overall list of References (endnotes and "Further Readings" are provided at the conclusion of each chapter), and there is only a three and a half-page index.

This is a difficult book to review in that beyond being concerned with the topic of technology and society with reference to Canada, Goyder provides no central thesis or overarching set of integrative themes. Instead, especially in the [End Page 260] six chapters that comprise Part II, the reader is presented with a series of essays on various aspects of technology. Although some of these essays are extremely interesting (I particularly enjoyed "Technology as Second Self" [Chapter 9] and "Ethical Responses to Technology" [Chapter 10]), the overall organization of this book does not conform to the conventional structure of an undergraduate textbook. Moreover, Goyder's sometimes convoluted style is not likely to sit well with the average student: "To conclude this orientation to Figure 2.1, were it not for the risk of damage to the handsome volume resting in the reader's hands, it would be suggested that the page containing Figure 2.1 be folded top over bottom into a cylinder so that entries for 'technologies as dependent variables' and 'technologies as independent variables' overlapped" (49).

To be fair, Goyder does introduce his book by stating that in Part I he will deal with technology as a dependent variable by examining the "social and historical antecedents behind the creation and transmission of technology" (11), and in Part II he will view technology as an independent variable by addressing "the social consequences of technology" (12), but he provides no rationale as to why he has selected these particular consequences. Similarly, in his analysis of technology (26–33), Goyder does not offer any reasons for choosing material, source of power, and knowledge-base as his three main dimensions of technology. Rightfully, he states that the selection of dimensions is "an arbitrary choice" (34); however, it is still necessary for him to provide some kind of theoretical rationale for the choice he has made. Perhaps if Goyder had made more explicit at the outset some of the unifying themes with which he concludes, this reader would not question so much as to where he is going and why.

Notwithstanding these criticisms, I found Goyder's knowledge of this multidimensional field to be impressive and his treatment of various issues balanced. He also provides extensive coverage of the Canadian stars of technology (rank-ordered by their Index listings): Marshall McLuhan, George Grant, Alexander Graham Bell, Harold Innis, Arthur Kroker, John Porter, John Kenneth Galbraith, Heather Menzies, Ursula Franklin, Gordon Laxer, Barry Wellman, and John Myles. Commenting on this impressive list of Canadian scholars, Goyder quotes Arthur Kroker: "Canada's principal contribution to North American thought consists of a highly original, comprehensive, and eloquent discourse on technology" (10). John Goyder is certainly part of this enviable tradition.

In summary, I found Goyder's 'essays' to be fascinating historical snapshots of various facets of technology. My major complaint is that this is a book that doesn't yet know what it wants...