TechnoViews #12 'Rural-Urban Migration and Agro-Technological Change in Post-Reform China' | Lena Kaufmann (U. of Zurich)

TechnoViews by Sci-Tech Asia International Research Network

Episode notes

Lena KAUFMANN, interviewed by Joseph BOSCO on 9 Sept 2021

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

In this podcast episode, Dr. Kaufmann discusses what she means by the term “sociotechnical,” and “paddy field predicament,” the fact that in the area she researched, paddy fields need to be continuously planted or they become damaged and less productive. We also discuss her argument that technology is not simply a matter of linear progress, and whether her argument is really different from the “appropriate technology” argument of the 1960’s and ‘70s. Furthermore, given that her data covers almost a decade, she discusses whether what she describes is just a transitional situation of multiple technologies, and whether there is a strong tendency for labor saving technology. We also talk about deskilling, and what she calls the “skill turn.” At the end, we talk a ... 

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Keywords
agrotechnological changedeskilling