The acts of making something are usually unfamiliar to social and human researchers, who are more accustomed to an observant position regarding the technical moments of conception and construction. From the standpoint of the social sciences and humanities, this paper argues for a different approach to technological realms. Our goal is to move increasingly from detached studies to more interactive encounters, mainly through a commitment to working directly with researchers and practitioners from engineering, design, architecture and other technical fields. We argue that, although multiple analyses have been attentive to technological phenomenons and its empirical ramifications, there still lingers an overall passivity towards the possibilities of transforming them through synergistic research and development platforms. The external character of social and human sciences contacts with technology can be changed via interdisciplinary efforts, ranging from conceptual exchanges to methodological interferences in construction stages. By presenting joint experiences, we aim at a clearer picture of actual and potential benefits from dialogues between social, human and technical disciplines. At the end, our goal is for social sciences and humanities to produce not only interdisciplinary spaces of interaction, regarding the technological spheres of invention, production, distribution, or use and consumption planning, but also to transform these same spheres, from internal concepts and processes to the concrete artefacts by which they are accountable for.

--

Interdisciplinarity,Science and technology studies,Social sciences and humanities,Engineering,Design and architecture,Technological processes,Active engagements