Samantha Shorey

HANDMADE FUTURES

“Making" is a method of Do-It-Yourself technology design that engages students, hobbyists and experienced engineers in the building of technological artifacts beyond corporate research & development. For my PhD dissertation, I observed the practice of making in a university space dedicated to supporting student invention. There, I studied the potential of making to challenge longstanding gender disparities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

A Field-Based Inquiry of Innovation through Making and Craft

How do narratives about innovation open opportunities or build barriers for women to become innovators? During the my two years of dissertation fieldwork, I observed how the ideals of maker culture position computer programming & 3D printing as central to innovation — while sidelining other forms of hand work to the realm of “craft.” Importantly, this division overlaps with longstanding, gendered hierarchies around creative and scientific labor. I argue that the potential of making, as an inclusive form of innovation, requires a commitment to a diversity of creative practices as a source of innovative thinking.

The Reoccurring History of Corporate Do-It-Yourself Culture