A conceptual update of affordance theory that introduces the mechanisms and conditions framework, providing a vocabulary and critical perspective.
Technological affordances mediate between the features of a technology and the outcomes of engagement with that technology. The concept of affordances, which migrated from psychology to design with Donald Norman's influential 1988 book, The Design of Everyday Things, offers a useful analytical tool in technology studies--but, Jenny Davis argues in How Artifacts Afford, it is in need of a conceptual update. Davis provides just such an update, introducing the mechanisms and conditions framework, which offers both a vocabulary and necessary critical perspective for affordance analyses.
“How Artifacts Afford is nothing short of magical! Jenny Davis describes what technologies can do in social life. The writing is crisp and clear and the work is groundbreaking. This book will teach—both scholars and students alike—a socially informed framework for thinking about how technologies shape our world, and I predict it will have a field-defining impact.” —Gina Neff, Senior Research Fellow and Associate Professor, University of Oxford
“How Artifacts Afford offers a clarifying survey of the relationship between humans and technologies via the filter of affordance theory. Attentive to detail and always aware of the importance of the mundane, Jenny Davis provides a schematic for understanding how people make, and are made by, objects.” —Nathan Jurgenson, author of The Social Photo; Cofounder and Cochair of the Theorizing the Web Conference; Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Real Life magazine; and Sociologist at Snap Inc.
Jenny L. Davis is a sociologist at the Australian National University.
Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: A Brief History of Affordances Chapter 3: Power and Politics Chapter 4: Mechanisms of Affordance Chapter 5: Conditions of Affordance Chapter 6: Affordances in Practice Chapter 7: Conclusion
A conceptual update of affordance theory that introduces the mechanisms and conditions framework, providing a vocabulary and critical perspective.
Technological affordances mediate between the features of a technology and the outcomes of engagement with that technology. The concept of affordances, which migrated from psychology to design with Donald Norman's influential 1988 book, The Design of Everyday Things, offers a useful analytical tool in technology studies--but, Jenny Davis argues in How Artifacts Afford, it is in need of a conceptual update. Davis provides just such an update, introducing the mechanisms and conditions framework, which offers both a vocabulary and necessary critical perspective for affordance analyses.
Reviews
“How Artifacts Afford is nothing short of magical! Jenny Davis describes what technologies can do in social life. The writing is crisp and clear and the work is groundbreaking. This book will teach—both scholars and students alike—a socially informed framework for thinking about how technologies shape our world, and I predict it will have a field-defining impact.” —Gina Neff, Senior Research Fellow and Associate Professor, University of Oxford
“How Artifacts Afford offers a clarifying survey of the relationship between humans and technologies via the filter of affordance theory. Attentive to detail and always aware of the importance of the mundane, Jenny Davis provides a schematic for understanding how people make, and are made by, objects.” —Nathan Jurgenson, author of The Social Photo; Cofounder and Cochair of the Theorizing the Web Conference; Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Real Life magazine; and Sociologist at Snap Inc.
Author
Jenny L. Davis is a sociologist at the Australian National University.
Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: A Brief History of Affordances Chapter 3: Power and Politics Chapter 4: Mechanisms of Affordance Chapter 5: Conditions of Affordance Chapter 6: Affordances in Practice Chapter 7: Conclusion
![Taking [A]part](https://images.penguinrandomhouse.com/cover/9780262552592?width=180)
