Beyond the Domestification of Nature? Restructuring the Relationship between Nature and Technology in Car Commercials

Stef Aupers, Dick Houtman, Peter Achterberg, Willem de Koster, Peter Mascini and Jeroen van der Waal (2012) Beyond the domestication of nature? Restructuring the relationship between nature and technology in car commercials European Journal of Cultural Studies 15(1) 3–18.

20 Pages Posted: 1 Feb 2015

See all articles by Stef Aupers

Stef Aupers

Independent

Dick Houtman

Independent

Peter Achterberg

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Faculty of Social Sciences

Willem Koster

Independent

Peter Mascini

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Law; Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Faculty of Social Sciences

Jeroen van der Waal

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR)

Date Written: January 31, 2012

Abstract

It is often assessed that the modern construction of nature, technology and the relation between both is in the midst of a restructuring without specifying exactly what different articulations can be distinguished and how they differ from the modern notion of nature being domesticated by technology. Through an analysis of car commercials, this study develops an empirically informed typology of different constellations of nature and technology. Beside the modern nature-technology dichotomy, the authors distinguish an articulation imagining technology as a biological or cybernetic organism, paradoxically, emphasizing its superiority over nature; an articulation thematizing the ‘revenge of nature’ and the problems of technological progress; and an articulation holistically connecting car technology to ‘superior’ realms of nature. The ‘nature of nature’, it is concluded, proves to be deeply contested. Rather than formulating ‘grand narratives’, the authors therefore call for empirical studies that address cultural conflicts about the relationship between nature and technology.

Keywords: Nature, technology, car commercials, advertising, social construction, post-humanism, modern reflexivity, risk society, re-enchantment, cultural conflict

JEL Classification: M14, M37

Suggested Citation

Aupers, Stef and Houtman, Dick and Achterberg, Peter and Koster, Willem and Mascini, Peter and van der Waal, Jeroen, Beyond the Domestification of Nature? Restructuring the Relationship between Nature and Technology in Car Commercials (January 31, 2012). Stef Aupers, Dick Houtman, Peter Achterberg, Willem de Koster, Peter Mascini and Jeroen van der Waal (2012) Beyond the domestication of nature? Restructuring the relationship between nature and technology in car commercials European Journal of Cultural Studies 15(1) 3–18., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2558515

Stef Aupers

Independent ( email )

Dick Houtman

Independent

Peter Achterberg

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Faculty of Social Sciences ( email )

Burgemeester Oudlaan 50
Rotterdam, 3062
Netherlands

Willem Koster

Independent ( email )

Peter Mascini (Contact Author)

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Law ( email )

Office: Sanders building, L7-23
3000 DR Rotterdam, 3000 DR
Netherlands
0031 622498090 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.eur.nl/people/peter-mascini/

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Faculty of Social Sciences ( email )

Mandeville building, T7-18
3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands
0031622498090 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.eur.nl/people/peter-mascini/

Jeroen Van der Waal

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR)

Burgemeester Oudlaan 50
3000 DR Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland 3062PA
Netherlands

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