Subalterns of technopoly: brokering techno-power in academic sociology

Drawing on responses to a small-scale sensitizing sociological probe of 'technological stratification' in academic sociology, this article considers the role of academic staff delegated to oversee the distribution of information and communications technology resources within their departments between the years 1987-1996. From their recollections as local 'gatekeepers' of the new knowledge technologies, these 'subalterns of Technopoly' perceived themselves as relatively powerless 'techno-power brokers' unable to make a significant difference to the 'technological stratification' they encountered in their working environments in that period.