Energy ideals, visions, narratives, and rhetoric: Examining sociotechnical imaginaries theory and methodology in energy research

Tidwell, Jacqueline Hettel; Tidwell, Abraham S. D.

doi:10.1016/j.erss.2017.11.005

Energy ideals, visions, narratives, and rhetoric: Examining sociotechnical imaginaries theory and methodology in energy research

Journal Article · Wed Nov 15 23:00:00 EST 2017 · Energy Research and Social Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2017.11.005· OSTI ID:1894586

Tidwell, Jacqueline Hettel ^[1]; Tidwell, Abraham S. D. ^[2]

Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States)

Sociotechnical imaginaries emerged in the last decade as a potentially fruitful approach to understanding how collective social values inflect on the production of scientific knowledge and the design of technological systems. Yet insights generated to date have focused on the categories experts use to define a society’s idealized organization, either as the direct subject of analysis by documentary analysis or through the ways such categories circumscribe the field of authorized “values” open for adjudication in public engagement events. We argue that sociotechnical imaginaries require a new methodological framework for designing research in order to examine the collective values of citizens as they live their daily lives, rather than focusing on experts and the state in order to understand the shared moral, material, and scientific goals of a society. Drawing inspiration from rhetoric, corpus linguistics, and dialectology, we present the Social Energy Atlas, a new and burgeoning research project that employs such methods for studying emergent narrative patterns and variation at the local level. Furthermore, advancing the theory and practice of studying sociotechnical imaginaries is of tremendous benefit to Energy and Social Science researchers, and it is our intent this commentary encourages further careful development and use of the concept.

Research Organization:: Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0007664

OSTI ID:: 1894586

Journal Information:: Energy Research and Social Science, Journal Name: Energy Research and Social Science Vol. 39; ISSN 2214-6296

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (13)

Containing the Atom: Sociotechnical Imaginaries and Nuclear Power in the United States and South Korea Jasanoff, Sheila; Kim, Sang-Hyun Minerva, Vol. 47, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-009-9124-4	journal	June 2009
Sweet dreams (are made of cellulose): Sociotechnical imaginaries of second-generation bioenergy in the global debate Kuchler, Magdalena Ecological Economics, Vol. 107 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.09.014	journal	November 2014
Integrating social science in energy research Sovacool, B. K.; Ryan, S. E.; Stern, P. C. Energy Research & Social Science, Vol. 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2014.12.005	journal	March 2015
Imagining energy futures: Sociotechnical imaginaries of the future Smart Grid in Norway Ballo, Ingrid Foss Energy Research & Social Science, Vol. 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2015.08.015	journal	September 2015
The micro smart grid as a materialised imaginary within the German energy transition Engels, Franziska; Münch, Anna Verena Energy Research & Social Science, Vol. 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2015.08.024	journal	September 2015
Ambivalence, designing users and user imaginaries in the European smart grid: Insights from an interdisciplinary demonstration project Skjølsvold, Tomas Moe; Lindkvist, Carmel Energy Research & Social Science, Vol. 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2015.08.026	journal	September 2015
The Burial Ground: A Bridge Between Language And Culture Burkette, Allison Journal of Linguistic Geography, Vol. 3, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1017/jlg.2016.2	journal	September 2015
My version of corpus linguistics Teubert, Wolfgang International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, Vol. 10, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1075/ijcl.10.1.01teu	journal	March 2005
A critical and empirical analysis of the national-local ‘gap’ in public responses to large-scale energy infrastructures Batel, Susana; Devine-Wright, Patrick Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Vol. 58, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2014.914020	journal	May 2014
Representativeness in Corpus Design Biber, D. Literary and Linguistic Computing, Vol. 8, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1093/llc/8.4.243	journal	October 1993
Spoken Corpus Design Crowdy, S. Literary and Linguistic Computing, Vol. 8, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1093/llc/8.4.259	journal	October 1993
Policy-driven, narrative-based evidence gathering: UK priorities for decarbonisation through biomass Levidow, Les; Papaioannou, Theo Science and Public Policy, Vol. 43, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scv016	journal	May 2015
The Imaginary Strauss, Claudia Anthropological Theory, Vol. 6, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1177/1463499606066891	journal	September 2006

Cited By (4)

From Containing the Atom to Mitigating Residual Risk: The German Imaginary of Nuclear Emergency Preparedness Ionescu, Tudor B. Atmosphere, Vol. 11, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11121302	journal	November 2020
Guest Editorial: Conceptualizing Justice and Counter-Expertise Williams, Logan D. A.; Moore, Sharlissa Science as Culture, Vol. 28, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1080/09505431.2019.1632820	journal	July 2019
Bringing Back the Mines and a Way of Life: Populism and the Politics of Extraction Kojola, Erik Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Vol. 109, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2018.1506695	journal	December 2018
Shared Yet Contested: Energy Democracy Counter-Narratives Burke, Matthew J. Frontiers in Communication, Vol. 3 https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2018.00022	journal	June 2018

Similar Records

Jeremy Rifkin challenges recombinant DNA research: A rhetoric of heresy

Thesis/Dissertation · Tue Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1991 · OSTI ID:7022819

VIOLENT FRAMES IN ACTION

Journal Article · Wed Nov 16 23:00:00 EST 2011 · Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict · OSTI ID:1029864

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
Linguistics
Methods
Sociotechnical imaginaries
Solar energy

Energy ideals, visions, narratives, and rhetoric: Examining sociotechnical imaginaries theory and methodology in energy research

Citation Formats

References (13)

Cited By (4)

Similar Records

Related Subjects