Conversation and Technology

We live in a world where social interaction is increasinglymediated by technological devices. In this book, Ian Hutchbyexplores the impact these technologies have on our attempts tocommunicate. Focusing on four examples - telephones, computerizedexpert systems at work, speech-based systems dealing with enquiriesfrom the public, and multi-user spaces on the Internet - Hutchbyasks: are we increasingly technologized conversationalists, or istechnology increasingly conversationalized?Conversation and Technology draws on recent theory andempirical research in conversation analysis, ethnomethodology andthe social construction of technology. In novel contributions toeach of these areas, Hutchby argues that the ways in which weinteract can be profoundly shaped by technological media, while atthe same time we ourselves are shapers of both the cultural andinteractional properties of these technologies.The book begins by examining a variety of theoretical perspectiveson this issue. Hutchby offers a critical appraisal of recentsociological thinking, which has tended to over-estimate society'sinfluence on technological development. Instead he calls for a newappreciation of the relationship between human communication andtechnology. Using a range of case studies to illustrate hisargument, Hutchby explores the multiplicity of ways in whichtechnology affects our ordinary conversational practices.Readers in areas as diverse as sociology, communication studies,psychology, computer science and management studies will find muchof interest in this account of the human and communicativeproperties of various forms of modern communication technology.