Torjus Solheim Eckhoff
PhD candidate, University of Oslo
Eckhoff has a mixed disciplinary background with a Bachelor in geography from NTNU and a Master’s in Environment and Conflict Analysis from Aarhus University. Before returning to academia, he worked for some years in science communication, covering topics related to climate and environmental science in polar and mountain regions. As a geographer he was trained to study the material foundations of societies, which, in turn, fostered his interest in the intersection of technology, politics, economics, and culture. In Science and Technology Studies (STS) he found theories and methodologies he could utilise to study this intersection and how knowledge is produced. In addition to make contributions to the field of STS, he hopes to contribute to a more insightful discussion about technology beyond academic circles.
Tell us about your project!
Studying Official Norwegian Reports (NOU) and speeches in the Norwegian Parliament from the 1970s up until present, this project seeks to investigate technological imaginaries and how electronic data processing (EDP), information and communication technology (ICT), information technology (IT) and the digital have developed as objects of governance. The overall goal is to better understand the historical relation between technological development, bureaucratic structures and political goals in a Norwegian context. Further it wants to highlight how NOUs have formulated the issue-making of the topic. A mixed method approach will be applied by using document ethnography and a combination of qualitative and quantitative text analysis to track discourses over time.
The overall goal is to better understand the historical relation between technological development, bureaucratic structures and political goals in a Norwegian context.”
— Torjus Solheim Eckhoff on the project “The contemporary history of ICT in Norway”