Satellite Television for Education: A History of the Use of Satellite Television in Different National Contexts from the 1900s to the 2020s

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Technological change is often assumed to be closely related to a country’s modernization and development, particularly in developing countries. However, the assumption that technology determines outcomes has not only led scholars to miss numerous global narratives of technological change in practice but has also obscured the agency of adopting nations in shaping and designing the use of imported technology. This research critically examines notions of technology transfer and the agency of technology-importing nations to alter, rearrange, and interpret technological projects and artifacts in ways that differ from designers’ social imaginaries by balancing local and transnational values and traditions. Building on recent Science, Technology and Society (STS) scholarship, this research treats non-inventing nations as active and creative actors in the technological development process. It moves away from following linear modernization narratives of technological development to focus on older, supposedly outmoded technologies, like satellite television for distance learning, and explores the maintenance of their complex technological development network. Archival research of satellite television for distance learning reveals how technological change and usage are intertwined with social and economic geographies in different national contexts. Supposedly obsolete systems like satellite television not only have a significant role to play in some areas but also continues to be adjusted and developed. Through conducting oral history and archival research, this project contributes to the history of technology by focusing on technology-importing nations and their role in technological development so as to improve science, technology, and innovation policy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.