Social Sciences of Technology

The empirical study of technology as a social phenomenon—how technologies are developed, adopted, resisted, and transformed by social forces. Social Sciences of Technology includes science and technology studies (STS), history of technology, sociology of technology, and technology studies. It examines how technologies shape society and how society shapes technologies, revealing that technology is never just tools—it's politics, culture, and power made material.

"You think technology is neutral. Social sciences of technology asks: then why do different societies develop different technologies? Why do technologies have different impacts in different contexts? Why do some technologies fail and others succeed for non-technical reasons? Technology is social, and social science shows how."

by Dumu The Void March 2, 2026

Social Sciences of Progress

The empirical study of progress as a social phenomenon—how societies understand, measure, and pursue progress. Social Sciences of Progress examines how progress narratives shape policy, how progress is distributed, who benefits from claims of progress, and how progress is contested. It reveals that progress isn't just a fact—it's a story societies tell themselves, with real consequences for who gets what.

"We're making progress, they say. Social sciences of progress asks: progress for whom? Measured how? Compared to what? Who's left out of the story? Progress isn't just a fact; it's a narrative, and social science shows who writes it and who's written out."

by Dumu The Void March 2, 2026

Social Sciences of History

The empirical study of how history is produced, contested, and consumed as a social activity. Social Sciences of History includes historiography, sociology of historical knowledge, and memory studies. It examines how historical narratives are constructed, how they serve present interests, how they're taught and remembered, how they shape identity. It reveals that history isn't just the past—it's what we say about the past, and that saying is always social.

"History is what happened. Social sciences of history asks: says who? Based on what sources? Told by whom? For what audience? History is always told from somewhere, and social science shows the somewhere that textbooks hide. Not to deny the past, but to understand how we know it."

by Dumu The Void March 2, 2026

Critical Social Sciences

An umbrella term for social science approaches that explicitly incorporate critique of power, ideology, and social structures into their methodology. Critical Social Sciences don't just describe society—they analyze how society is organized, who benefits, and how change might be possible. They draw on Marx, Foucault, feminist theory, critical race theory, and other traditions to examine the relationships between knowledge, power, and social organization. Critical Social Sciences include critical sociology, critical political science, critical economics, and others—all united by the commitment to understanding society in order to transform it.

"Mainstream economics describes markets; critical economics asks who markets serve. That's Critical Social Sciences—not just describing, but critiquing. Not just understanding, but changing. Social science without critique is just documentation; critique without social science is just opinion. Together, they're tools for freedom."

by Dumu The Void March 3, 2026

Marxist Social Sciences

An umbrella term for social science approaches grounded in Marxist theory—analyzing society through the lens of class, mode of production, historical materialism, and critique of capitalism. Marxist Social Sciences include Marxist sociology, Marxist economics, Marxist political science, Marxist history, and others—all united by the commitment to understanding society as shaped by material conditions, class struggle, and the dynamics of capitalism. They don't just describe society; they analyze its contradictions, its injustices, and its possibilities for transformation. Marxist Social Sciences are both analytical and political—understanding the world to change it.

"Mainstream economics assumes capitalism is natural; Marxist economics asks how capitalism works, who benefits, and what alternatives exist. That's Marxist Social Sciences: not just describing, but critiquing. Not just understanding, but transforming. Social science without critique is just documentation; critique without social science is just opinion. Marxism insists on both."

by Dumu The Void March 3, 2026

Left-wing Social Sciences

An umbrella term for social science approaches informed by left-wing politics—analyzing society through lenses of class, race, gender, and power, with commitment to equality and justice. Left-wing Social Sciences include left sociology, left economics, left political science, and others—all examining how social structures produce inequality and how change might be possible. They don't pretend to be value-neutral; they acknowledge that all social science has political implications, and they choose sides with the oppressed. Left-wing Social Sciences are both rigorous and committed—understanding the world to change it.

"Mainstream economics assumes markets are efficient. Left-wing economics asks: efficient for whom? At what cost? Who's excluded? Left-wing social sciences don't pretend neutrality; they take sides—with evidence, with analysis, with justice. Not ideology pretending to be science, but science that knows it's always political and chooses which politics to serve."

by Dumu The Void March 3, 2026

Critical Theory of Social Sciences

The application of Critical Theory to the social sciences—examining how disciplines like sociology, political science, and economics are shaped by power, how they can serve domination or liberation, and how they might be transformed. Critical Theory of Social Sciences asks: How have social sciences justified inequality? How have they been complicit in colonialism, racism, sexism? How might they serve struggles for justice? Drawing on Marx, Foucault, feminist theory, and critical race theory, it insists that social science is never neutral—it's always political. The question is which politics it serves.

"Economics says markets are efficient. Critical Theory of Social Sciences asks: efficient for whom? At what cost? Markets produce winners and losers—economics that ignores that is ideology. Social science can describe or it can critique. Critical theory chooses critique—not for its own sake, but for justice."

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal March 4, 2026