Overview
"From genetically modified food to weapons of mass destruction, we live in an age of intense debate about technology's place in our culture. While the technologies have changed, these debates go back hundreds of years, and their assumptions have become deeply entrenched in our culture." Culture + Technology is an essential guide to the fascinating history of these debates, and offers new perspectives that give readers the tools they need to make informed decisions about the role of technology in our lives. In clear and compelling language, Slack and Wise untangle and expose the cultural assumptions that underlie our thinking about technology, stories so deeply held we often don't recognize their influence. The book considers the perceived inevitability of technological advance and our myths about progress. It also looks at sources of resistance to these stories from the Luddites of the 19th century to the Unabomber in our own time. Slack and Wise help readers sift through the confusions about culture and technology that arise in their own everyday lives.Synopsis
Slack (communication and cultural studies, Michigan Technological U.) and Wise (communication studies, Arizona State U.) examine the basic concepts, debates, and practices that have developed for understanding and acting in "technological culture." Coverage includes discussion of the "received view" of culture and technology—the commonsense stories our culture tells us about technology and progress, convenience, causality, and control; stories of resistance, including the Luddites, Appropriate Technologists, and the Unabomber; and new stories from cultural studies that consider technology in relation to causality, agency, articulation and assemblage, space, identity, politics, and globalization. Academic but accessible to the general reader, the text serves as a primer for beginners and as a resource for those familiar with some of the issues. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR