SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY

What SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY does

The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) is an international nonprofit learned society founded in 1958 and devoted to the study of the history of technology. Headquartered operationally in the United States but serving a global membership, the society functions as the preeminent scholarly venue for the discipline, anchoring academic publishing, conferences, and professional recognition in the field.

SHOT's core product portfolio consists of the peer-reviewed flagship journal Technology and Culture, the members-only EBSCO Bibliographies database, the SHOT Newsletter, the public-facing online publication Technology Stories, annual meetings, and a federation of 13+ Special Interest Groups (SIGs) covering subfields such as aviation, computing, environmental technology, energy, military technology, communication, chemical technology, engineering education, and diversity. The society also administers prestigious awards including the Leonardo da Vinci Medal, the Abbott Payson Usher Prize, and the Dexter Prize, alongside travel grants supporting scholar participation.

Revenue is generated through annual individual membership dues, journal and publication subscriptions (including institutional access to Technology and Culture), and conference registration fees from the annual meeting. The society operates without venture or private equity backing and is governed by member-elected officers and committees. Its go-to-market motion is community-led: scholars are recruited through academic channels, conferences, and the SIG ecosystem, with no public pricing disclosed for membership tiers.

Name

SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY

Legal name

Society for the History of Technology

Website

https://historyoftechnology.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SHOT is an international nonprofit scholarly society founded in 1958 that serves historians of technology worldwide through its flagship journal Technology and Culture, annual conferences, 13+ Special Interest Groups, awards, and travel grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Scholarly Society

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAJAEAL

Science, Technology & Gaming Magazines

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Magazine Publishing (Consumer & B2B/Trade Magazines)

SECONDARYBPAFADAK

Nonprofit & Cause Communications

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Public Relations & Communications

Keywords

• Scholarly society
• Academic publishing
• Professional membership
• History research
• Academic conferences

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees providing access to publications, conferences, and member benefits including the Technology and Culture journal, SHOT Newsletter, and member-exclusive resources.
2. Publication Sales: Revenue from journal subscriptions, book sales, and digital publications including Technology and Culture and Technology Stories.
3. Conference Revenue: Annual meeting registration fees and related conference activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) operates as an international nonprofit learned society that delivers scholarly publishing, annual conferences, and member community services centered on the history of technology. Its core offerings include the peer-reviewed journal Technology and Culture, the online publication Technology Stories, members-only EBSCO Bibliographies, the SHOT Newsletter, an annual meeting, and 13+ Special Interest Groups covering aviation, computing, environmental technology, energy, communication, military, chemical, engineering education, Asia, museums, women in technology history, and diversity.

Product overview

The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) is an international learned society devoted to the history of technology. The organization operates as a membership-based academic society offering a portfolio of scholarly products: the flagship journal Technology and Culture, the publication platform Technology Stories, members-only EBSCO Bibliographies, the SHOT Newsletter, annual meetings, and numerous Special Interest Groups (SIGs) covering diverse subfields. The society also administers awards, prizes, grants, and travel grants to support scholarship in the field.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Technology's Stories: A publication by SHOT that engages readers with stories from the usable past—stories that help make sense of contemporary technological challenges and aspirations.

Products and services

• Technology and Culture

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• MIT OpenCoursewareminorOthersSHOT's teaching resources page references MIT OpenCourseware as a valuable source of course materials for history of technology education, linking to their STS department resources.
• National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) EdsitementminorOthersSHOT's teaching materials page references the NEH-sponsored Edsitement website as an extremely useful source of lesson plans for history of technology education.
• SIGCIS (Special Interest Group on Computers, Information, and Society)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSIGCIS is an official SHOT Special Interest Group with over 600 members worldwide, maintaining its own website, email list, and resource guide for the field of information technology history. It operates independently while affiliated with SHOT.
• Envirotech (Environmental Technology History SIG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvirotech is a SHOT SIG focused on the interrelationship of technology and nature, organizing scholarly activities and maintaining a newsletter and website at envirotechhistory.org.
• Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM)minorOthersSAGE (SHOT: A Gathering of Elders) SIG has an affiliation with CHSTM, meeting virtually for topical conversations, workshops, and lectures.
• International Committee on History of Technology (ICOHTEC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSMiTInG (SHOT Military Technology Interest Group) actively participates in ICOHTEC's annual symposium on social history of military technology. ICOHTEC is an international organization with shared scholarly mission.
• American Society for Environmental History (ASEH)minorOthersEnvirotech SIG was organized through conversations at ASEH conferences, indicating ongoing collaboration between the environmental history and technology history communities.
• Liberal Education Division of the American Society of Engineering EducationminorOthersThe Prometheans SIG connects with this organization in pursuit of coordinated approach to improvements in engineering education.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• American Historical Association (AHA): Broad incumbent - much larger umbrella scholarly society for historians that includes history of technology as a subfield. AHA's institutional weight and membership scale (over 10,000) dwarf SHOT, but its programming is less specialized.

Direct peers

• History of Science Society (HSS): Direct peer - fellow learned society publishing a flagship journal (Isis), issuing prizes, and convening annual meetings for scholars in the closely adjacent history of science field. Overlapping membership and co-located conferences make HSS the most direct comparable.
• Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM): Direct peer - umbrella organization with explicit shared mission in history of science, technology, and medicine. SHOT's SAGE SIG has formal affiliation with CHSTM, indicating operational comparability.
• Society for Social Studies of Science (4S/EASST): Direct peer - learned society for scholars studying science, technology, and society (STS), with substantial overlap with SHOT's mission on the social dimensions of technology history. Convenes joint or co-located meetings in some years.
• Society for Industrial Archeology (SIA): Direct peer - smaller learned society focused on industrial and technological heritage, with overlapping member interests in technology museums and artifact preservation. Smaller scale but tightly aligned niche.
• British Society for the History of Science (BSHS): Direct peer - UK-based counterpart learned society publishing the British Journal for the History of Science, with comparable membership structure, awards, and annual conference model. Geographically complementary to SHOT.
• American Society for Environmental History (ASEH): Direct peer - SHOT's Envirotech SIG was organized through ASEH conferences, and the two societies share significant membership in environmental technology history. Comparable nonprofit scholarly society model with annual meetings and journal.
• International Committee for the History of Technology (ICOHTEC): Direct peer - international scholarly organization with explicitly overlapping mission in history of technology. SHOT's SMiTInG SIG actively participates in ICOHTEC's annual symposium, indicating tightly coupled membership and programming.

Emerging players

• Philosophy and Technology (journal/scholarly community): Emerging peer - interdisciplinary scholarly community and Springer journal addressing technology from philosophical and ethical angles, overlapping with SHOT's expanded scope into technology policy and ethics.

Regional players

• Society for the History of Science (HSS Japan) / History of Science Society of Japan: Regional peer - Japanese counterpart learned society for history of science and technology, with relevance to SHOT's Asia Network. Similar membership/scholarly society model but geographically focused.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SHOT_ECIG
• Facebookfacebook.com/SHOT.ECIG
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/society-for-the-history-of-technology

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles28 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY