A Companion to American Technology

A Companion to American Technology is a groundbreaking collection of original essays that analyze the hard–to–define phenomenon of “technology” in America. Taking a broadly historiographical approach, twenty–one leading scholars explore important features of American technology, including developments in automobiles, television, and computing. They also examine the ways in which technologies are organized in, for instance, the engineering profession, government, medicine and agriculture, and analyze how technologies interact with race, gender, class, and other comparable categories in American society. Scholars of American technology, as well as students, journalists, and general readers will find this a compelling, fascinating look at America’s machinery, industry, and technophilic culture.

Notes on Contributors. Introduction. Carroll Pursell. PART I: BEGINNINGS . 1 Technology in Colonial North America: Robert B. Gordon . 2. The American Industrial Revolution: James C. Williams . PART II: SITES OF PRODUCTION. 3. The Technology of Production: Carroll Pursell . 4. Technology and Agriculture in 20th century America: Deborah Fitzgerald . 5. House and Home: Gail Cooper . 6. The City and Technology: Joel A. Tarr . 7. Technology in Environment: Betsy Mendelsohn . 8. Government and Technology: Carroll Pursell . 9. Medicine and Technology: James M. Edmonson . PART III: SITES OF CONTEST. 10. The North American ‘Body–Machine’ Complex: Chris Hables Gray . 11. Gender and Technology: Rebecca Herzig . 12. Labor and Technology: Arwen P. Mohun . PART IV: TECHNOLOGICAL SYSTEMS . 13. The Automotive Transportation System: Cars And Highway in 20th–Century America: Bruce E. Seely . 14. Airplanes: Roger E. Bilstein . 15. Technology in Space: Roger D. Launius . 16. Nuclear Technology: Josh Silverman . 17. Television: Douglas Gomery . 18. Computers and the Internet: Braiding Irony, Paradox, and Possibility: Jeffrey R. Yost . PART V: PRODUCING AND READING TECHNOLOGICAL CULTURE . 19. The Profession of Engineering in America: Bruce Sinclair . 20. Popular Culture and Technology in the Twentieth Century: Molly W. Berger . 21. Art and Technology: Henry Adams . 22. Critics of Technology: David E. Nye . Index

Carroll Pursell is Adeline Barry Davee Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at Case Western Reserve University, and Adjunct professor of Modern History at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. He is the author of White Heat: People and Technology (1994) and The Machine in America: A Social History of Technology (2nd edition, 2007), and the editor of Technology in America: A History of Individuals and Ideas (2nd edition, 1990) and American Technology (Blackwell, 2000).

"These essays serve the purpose of establishing a base of information for the reader to better understand the process of technology, how it is defined, and how it can be traced throughout the history of the nation ... An excellent collection." Journal of Southern History <!––end––> "The very breadth of the subject matter and analytical techniques in these contributions is extremely impressive. A stimulating collection." History "Highly recommended." Choice