Write a paragraph applying one of these five theoretical approaches: technological determinism, social constructivism, Hughes’ theories of technological systems and technological momentum, Winner’s idea of “artifacts have politics,” or a critique of progress. Please read all of these first and plan ahead, because you will be asked to use each theory only once within this series of questions. There is not necessarily any one “correct” match for each questions, but some of them are certainly a better match than others, and for each scenario you’ll find some theories much more difficult to apply than others.

1. Travel (analysis length: 500 words)

In the post-World War II era of the late 20th Century, Americans began to travel for their vacations at a rate never seen before. America experienced a period of high mobility from 1958 – 1973 with a sharp increase in the average number of miles traveled for leisure. Several technological developments in transportation profoundly affected where and how fast people could travel and communicate. Perhaps the most important of these technical changes was the interstate highway system, which made most of the US available to travelers. Cars became faster, more comfortable, and more reliable, and fueling stations popped up at regular intervals along well-travelled routes. The introduction of the passenger jet airliner in 1958 increased the range in which Americans could travel, and the widespread availability of rental cars began shortly thereafter increased the options available to travelers. As a result of these technological advances, consumers were energized to leave their homes and visit distant locations.

As described in the paragraph above, does this seem to be a better example of technological determinism, social constructivism, Hughes’ theories of technological systems and technological momentum, Winner’s idea of “artifacts have politics,” or a critique of progress? Pick one of the five not used in another question in this series, and explain in detail why you think this passage primarily demonstrates that STS theory, and explain how we can better understand this scenario by seeing it through the lens of that STS theory.