14 th February 2024, GRIP seminar : Technological Globalization From Below

The next session of the GRIP seminar : Technological Globalization From Below is now available will take place on 14th February 2024 at 10AM

New technologies are entering daily lives and reshaping societies across the globe at an ever-increasing pace. While technological change has been largely analysed as stemming from Northern countries that industrialized first since the 18th and 19th century, this picture is not satisfying to explore the drivers and consequences of technological change in the context of the growing contribution of developing and emerging countries to the global economy. Surely, technologies originating from the global North are having a huge impact on societies in the global South, but analyses of technological change need to integrate other kinds of circulations (South-South and South-North, schematically), to develop a better understanding of the global world’s technological becoming. In order to understand the magnitude of this shift, we engage in a research programme that applies the framework of “globalization from below” to global markets of technology (Tarrius 2002; Mathews et al 2012; Choplin & Pliez 2018). The fundamental assumption guiding this research is that the development of technologies will take a path that is specific to societies from the Global South. The seminar’s sessions will document the social issues pertaining to technological expansion in developing and emerging contexts, based upon empirical research. By doing this, they will highlight the scientific and technological dynamism of the Global South countries, as well as the often devastating consequences of technological development for subalternized populations. Second, they will characterize technological globalization “from below”, through the formulation of analytical tools; they will therefore enrich the conception of technical expansion from an original standpoint, paying particular attention to processes of technological expansion in relation to developing contexts, where labour informality and resource-scarce innovation are major concerns. The seminar is interdisciplinary with a major “Science & Technology Studies” focus.

The seminar is in English and online. It is hosted by the CEPED (University of Paris/IRD) as part of the Global Research Institute of Paris (GRIP) activity.

Organizing committee: Javed Mohammad ALAM, Henry CHAVEZ, Mahamat Nour Moussa ILYASS, Koichi KAMEDA, Cecilia PASSANTI, Jessica POURRAZ, Mathieu QUET, Yves-Marie RAULT-CHODANKAR, Aamod UTPAL

How to join?

https://u-paris.zoom.us/j/81425374167?pwd=a0Z4RkUzbzhwakJnakZpMUMzNUZDQT09

ID de réunion 814 2537 4167

Code secret 055399

14th February at 10 AM

Speaker: Prof. Nancy Odendaal from the University of Cape Town

Title: Presenting the recent book “Disrupted Urbanism: Situated Smart Initiatives in African Cities” (2023, Bristol University Press)

Book description : The ‘smart city’ is often promoted as a technology-driven solution to complex urban issues. While commentators are increasingly critical of techno-optimistic narratives, the political imagination is dominated by claims that technical solutions can be uniformly applied to intractable problems. This book provides a much-needed alternative view, exploring how ‘home-grown’ digital disruption, driven and initiated by local actors, upends the mainstream corporate narrative. Drawing on original research conducted in a range of urban African settings, Odendaal shows how these initiatives can lead to meaningful change. This is a valuable resource for scholars working in the intersection of science and technology studies, urban and economic geography and sociology.

Program 2023-2024