Anglophone Technologies: from Franklins Lightning Rod to Silicon valley - Einzelansicht

From Benjamin Franklin’s Lightening Rod to the intrepid digital inventions of Silicon Valley, high-technology has always been part and parcel of North American culture and its self-understanding. By the same token, the narratives of technological progress and solution-based development were also deeply entangled with the cultural histories of modernity, colonialism and globalization. This seminar will trace the history of technology in the anglophone world - especially in North America - and will inquire into the cultural ramifications of the endless technological journey to perfection and improvement. Beginning with the ingenuity of (post)colonial American forefathers such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, we will discuss Leo Marx' famous concept of the ”Machine in the Garden”, the processes of industrialization as well as the digital transformation including the new field of "digital humanities". A previous knowledge of Science and Technology Studies is helpful but not a prerequisite. 

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