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Bio

Dr. Joshua Brinkman is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) at North Carolina State University.  He is an historian of technology and an STS scholar who focuses on the relationship between technology use and identity, as well as the impact of science and technology on policy and the legal system.  His research explores the meaning of technology in rural culture, the interplay between technology and race and gender, and the impact of social and cultural constructs on business, law, and policy in the U.S.  As a former practicing attorney, he is also interested in energy and climate policy and has written papers bringing STS and humanities perspectives to environmental law.  His work also critically studies food, society, and the environment including modernity in American agriculture and its interaction with the organic foods movement.  His work on agriculture was inspired, in part, by visiting and working on his family’s farm.  In his spare time he performs as a jazz and blues musician on saxophone and clarinet in the Raleigh-Durham area.

Review by DJ Dragonfly (WKNC 88.1) of Dr. Brinkman’s Lecture Recital “Science, Technology and Society and the Saxophone:”

A Review of “Arts NOW Series: Joshua Brinkman, Saxophone”

Watch Dr. Brinkman’s book presentation at the Genetic Engineering and Society Colloquium at NC State!: October 2025 Presentation

Listen to Dr. Brinkman discuss his book and research on the Peoples and Things podcast with Dr. Dr. Lee Vinsel:  Peoples and Things Episode 87

New Article Coming Out in Technology and Culture, July 2027: Joshua Brinkman, “‘Say Something on Your Horn:’ Technological Miscegenation, the Sonic Color Line, and the Contested Social Meaning of Conn Saxophones from the Jazz Age to the Swing Era,” Technology and Culture (July 2027).

Courses Taught in STS and IDS:

• Environmental Ethics (IDS 201)
• Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society (STS 214)
• Ethical Dimensions of Progress (STS 304)
• Capstone Seminar in Science, Technology, and Society (STS 403)

Conferences and Presentations:

• North Carolina State University Criminology Club Career Panel Speaker, April 23, 2026
• North Carolina State University Franklin Scholars, April 22, 2026, History and Science, Technology, and Society (STS) perspectives on the saxophone presentation.
• North Carolina State University Jefferson Scholars , March 9, 2026, American Farming Culture and the History of Technology book presentation.
• Arts NOW Series Lecture Recital at NC State, January 29, 2026: Science, Technology, and Society (STS) and the Saxophone.
• Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) Conference, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, October 10, 2025: “’Say Something on Your Horn:’ Technological Miscegenation, the Sonic Color Line, and the Contested Racialization of Conn Saxophones from the Jazz Age to the Swing Era.”
• Genetic Engineering & Society Colloquium at NC State, Raleigh, NC, October 7, 2025: “American Farming Culture and the History of Technology-Social and Cultural Considerations Surrounding Biotechnology in Rural Settings.”
• From Classrooms to Communities Panel: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Global Challenges, North Carolina State University, Students for the Advancement of Global One Health, Raleigh, NC, April 14, 2024.
• Hillcrest Honors Society Last Lecture Series at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, December 5, 2019
• American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), Webinar, October 18, 2017: “Welcoming Wind Turbines and the PIMBY (‘Please in My Backyard’) Phenomenon.”
• ”Virginia Tech Department of Science and Technology Studies Seminar Series, Blacksburg, VA, March 31, 2017: “From ‘Hicks’ to High Tech: Performative Use in the American Corn Belt.”
• Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) Conference, Albuquerque, NM, October 10, 2015: “Gender, Work Processes, and the Modernization of American Agriculture: Exploring Historical and Cultural Challenges Faced by the Organic Foods Movement.”
• Gender, Bodies, & Technology Conference, Virginia Tech, May 3, 2014: “Week 11: Intersections of Race, Gender, and Technology.”
• Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) Conference, Portland, ME, October 12, 2013
• Science and its Publics Conference, Toronto, Canada, June 15, 2013
• Virginia Tech Engagement Showcase, Virginia Tech, April 17, 2013
• ST Global Consortium, Washington, D.C., April 6, 2013: “Science and the American Judiciary: A Case Study of Massachusetts et al. v. EPA et al.”

Undergraduate Research Mentoring and Grants:

Three Provost Professional Experience Program (PEP) Grants (2026-2027)

North Carolina State Undergraduate Research Symposium Presentation Faculty Mentor, “The Story with Hydroelectric Power: Technology as a Site for Forming and Building Boundary Narratives and the Preservation of the Natural Sublime,” by Liam Vaughan (STS Major), April 28, 2026. Working Paper.

North Carolina State Undergraduate Research Symposium Presentation Faculty Mentor, “Sick of Technology: Big Data, Farmers, and Infiltrative Technologies,” Vibha Kestur (STS Major), April 28, 2026. Working Paper.

CHASS Project-Based Learning (PBL) Fellow (2026)

Memberships and Professional Organizations:

Member, Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) (2013-Present)

Member of Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium (2024-Present)

Member of CHASS Food and Animal Studies Working Group (2026-Present)

Member of the IHSS Wellness and Belonging Committee (2025-Present)

Area(s) of Expertise

- Agricultural technology and rural culture
- History of technology from a use perspective
- Engineering cultures and ethics
- Law, technology, and policy
- Energy and environmental law and policy
- The role of technology in forming identities
- Technology, race, and gender
- The history of technology, musical instruments, and jazz

In his most recent book entitled "American Farming Culture and the History of Technology," he presents a history of agriculture in the American Corn Belt arguing that modernization occurred not only for economic reasons but also because of how farmers use technology as a part of their identities and culture. The book draws on perspectives from STS and the history of technology to give farmers agency in bringing about technological change and explores policy debates over contemporary agriculture from the point of view of rural denizens.

Publications

• American Farming Culture and the History of Technology , Routledge (2024)
• The Effect of Unarticulated Identities and Values on Energy Policy , (2022)
• "Thinking like a lawyer" in an uncertain world , Energy Research & Social Science (2017)
• Welcoming Wind Turbines and the PIMBY (‘Please in My Backyard’) Phenomenon , Technology & Culture (2017)

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