Boel Berner 

Background

Ph. D. (sociology), Lund University. 1981
Docent (sociology), Lund University, 1988
Studies in London 1967–68, Paris 1971–74
Guest researcher: London 1982, Paris 1984, 1996–97, 2002
Professor at the Department of Technology and Social Change since 1991.

Responsible for the Research Programme on “Technology, practice, identity”

Editor of the Pandora-series, Arkiv förlag

Editor of the Tema T series "Perspectives on Technology"

Membre du Comité directeur du Mage, Paris

Research Interests

• Medical technology and practices. Current research investigates blood donation as a historically evolved social practice, where institutional conditions, medical technologies, meanings of citizenship, and professional rivalries are intertwined in the evolution and change of a complex sociotechnical system. Responsible also for project on emotional work within care, and telemedicine. Publications include the book Technology and Medical Practice. Blood, Guts and Machines (ed. with Ericka Johnson)(2010).
• The character and social role of technical knowledge. Research includes historical studies of the Swedish engineering profession and contemporary studies of technical education and work, as well as theoretical discussions on the relationships between technology and social change. Publications include the books Teknikens värld (The world of technology) (1981); Kunskapens vägar (The paths to knowledge)(1989); Perpetuum Mobile? (Perpetuum mobile. The challenges of technology and the course of history) (1999) and articles in Swedish and international journals and edited volumes.
• Gender and technology. Studies have analysed the relationships between masculinity and engineering education and work and the position of women within engineering. Another focus is household modernization, with studies of the moral economy of cleaning at the turn of the century 1900, and of the ideology of the "modern housewife" in the 1950's and 60's. Major publications are the books Från symaskin till cyborg (From sewing machine to cyborg) (ed. with Elisabeth Sundin) (1996); Sakernas tillstånd (The state of things. Gender, class, technical expertise) (1996); Gendered Practices (ed.1997); Suède: l’égalité des sexes en question (ed. with Elisabeth Elgán and Jacqueline Heinen) (2000); Vem tillhör tekniken? (Who are the masters of technology? Gender and knowledge in the world of technology) (ed. 2003), Ifrågasättanden. Forskning om genus, teknik och naturvtenskap (Questionings. Research on gender, technology and science), 2004, as well as articles in Swedish and international journals and edited volumes.
• Risk and uncertainty. The focus has been on constructions of risk and the handling of uncertainty in complex socio-technical environments. Published work include Manoeuvring in an Environment of Uncertainty (ed. with Per Trulsson) (2000); Constructing Risk and Safety in Technological Practice (ed. with Jane Summerton) (2003).

Current projects

 "Give Blood! Give Life! Modern Blood as Gift, Risk, and Raw Material"

"Better care at a distance? E-health, telemedicine, and medical practice"

"Learning 'emotional competence'. Work practices, emotions and the creation of a professional identity"

Publications

For full list, click Here

Recent publications

Books and edited volumes

Vad är tvärvetenskap och hur kan den göras. Erfarenheter från forskningen om teknik och samhälle, Perspektiv på tekniken nr 4, Tema T, Linköping, 2011, 145s.

Social Science Research 2004-2010. Themes, results and reflections (on nuclear waste issues), with Britt-Marie Drottz Sjöberg and Einar Holm), SKB, Stockholm, 2011, 178 pp.

Samhällsforskningen 2004–2010. Teman, resultat och reflektioner (om kärnavfall) (with Britt-Marie Drottz Sjöberg and Einar Holm), SKB, Stockholm, 2011, 168s.

Technology and Medical Practice. Blood, Guts, and Machines , (ed. with Ericka Johnson), London: Ashgate Publishers,  2010

Samhällsforskningen 2004–2009. Teman, resultat och reflektioner (On social science research of nuclear waste issues) (with Britt-Marie Drottz-Sjöberg and Einar Holm), Stockholm:SKB, 2009, 136 pp.
Ifrågasättanden. Forskning om genus, teknik och naturvetenskap, Tema T Rapport 42, Linköping 2004, 42, 186 sid

Vem tillhör tekniken? Kunskap och kön i teknikens värld (ed.) Arkiv, Lund, 2003, 311 sid

Constructing Risk and Safety in Technological Practice (ed. with Jane Summerton), Routledge, London, 2003, 200pp

Suède: Inégalité des sexes en question (ed. with Elisabeth Elgán & Jacqueline Heinen) Les Cahiers du Genre, l’Harmattan, Paris, 2000, 181pp

Manoeuvering in an Environment of Uncertainty. Structural Change and Social Action in Sub-Saharan Africa (ed. with Per Trulsson), Ashgate Publishers, London, 2000, 309pp

Perpetuum Mobile? Teknikens utmaningar och historiens gång, Arkiv, Lund, 1999, 248 pp

Articles

"The making of a risk object: AIDS, gay citizenship and the meaning of blood donation in Sweden in the early 1980s", Sociology of Health and Illness, 2011, 33 (3): 384–398

”Det amerikanska hemmet möter ”folkhemmet”. Teknik och politik i det svenska hushållsarbetets modernisering” i  Dorthe Gert Simonsen og Iben Vyff (red.): Amerika og det gode liv. Amerikanisering af den materielle kultur i Skandinavien, 1950erne og 1960erne. Odense: University Press of Southern Denmark, 2011

“Den uppmätta vardagen – eller den svåra konsten att ordna sin tid” i Jenny Palm & Elin Wihlborg (Red.) Sammanvävt, 2011

“Inledning” (with  Britt-Marie Drottz-Sjöberg och Einar Holm) i Samhällsforskning 2010. Betydelsen för människorna, hembygden och regionen av ett slutförvar för använt kärnbränsle, SKB, Stockholm,2010 (tidigare volymer i samma serie: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009), 4-17
 

"Crossing boundaries and maintaining differences between school and industry: forms of boundary-work in Swedish vocational education", Journal of Education and Work, Vol. 23, No. 1, February 2010, 27–42

“Introduction” (with Ericka Johnson) in Ericka Johnsson and Boel Berner (eds.) Technology and Medical Practice. Blood, Guts and Machines, London: Ashgate Publishers, 2010.

“(Dis)connecting bodies: Blood donation and technical change, Sweden 1915–1950”, in Ericka Johnsson and Boel Berner (eds.) Technology and Medical Practice. Blood, Guts and Machines, London: Ashgate Publishers, 2010, 179-201.

“Learning Control: Sense-Making, CNC Machines, and Changes in Vocational Training for Industrial Work”, Vocations and Learning, 2009, 2(3): 177-194

“Inledning” (with Britt-Marie Drottz-Sjöberg och Einar Holm) i Samhällsforskning 2009. Betydelsen för människorna, hembygden och regionen av ett slutförvar för använt kärnbränsle, SKB, Stockholm,2009
(tidigare volymer i samma serie: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)

"Teknikens kön" in Per Gyberg & Jonas Hallström (eds.) Världens gång - teknikens utveckling , Lund: Studentlitteratur, 2009, 281-294
 

Selected articles >>