Critical Infrastructure Studies in the Social Sciences and Humanities

Abstract

Over the last 20-30 years there has been an interdisciplinary «infrastructure shift». Infrastructural themes have taken root in academic research in the social sciences and humanities. The methodological strategies of this approach have demonstrated their explanatory power in addressing many contemporary problems, which makes this approach attractive. Critical infrastructure study has emerged as a basis for combining thinking about the complex relationships between society and its material structures. It can be postcolonial research, feminist theories, science and technology research, and more. Infrastructure is a mixture of things and ideas imbued with a variety of attitudes. The critical study of these relationships requires the comparison of views of different disciplines and many fields, such as information systems (large technical systems), big data analysis (Big Data), science and technology research, cultural, political, and philosophical approaches. The main methodological approaches to the critical infrastructure study are presented in the journal «Roadsides», which is a forum devoted to the study of the social, cultural and political life of infrastructure. The name itself is a metaphor referring to different types of interactions that occur near infrastructures. In the article some aspects of interaction of architecture, policy, museum, public space, aesthetics, environmental sustainability and infrastructure are discussed. However, the critical study of infrastructure is still not well represented in domestic humanitarian and social studies. This article aims to show the potential of infrastructure approach for interdisciplinary research of culture, ecology, space, city, including feminist, postcolonial optics.