Media Genealogy| Abstract Materialism: Peter Galison Discusses Foucault, Kittler, and the History of Science and Technology

Abstract

In this conversation between Peter Galison, professor of physics and the history of science at Harvard University, and Jeremy Packer, associate professor in the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information, and Technology at the University of Toronto, Galison addresses numerous concerns related to the historical analysis of technology. These include the importance of the work of Michel Foucault and Friedrich Kittler to the study of technology and science; the historical roots and continued prevalence of cybernetics on understandings of human-machine interactions; the often competing scientific virtues that drive scientific and technological innovation; and how Galison chooses the foci of his historical enquiries, which he calls “abstract materialism.”