Microhistories of Technology

In this open access book, Mikael Hård tells a story of how people around the world challenged the production techniques and products brought by globalization. Retaining their autonomy and freedom, creative individuals selectively adopted or rejected modern gadgets, tools, and machines. In standard historical narratives, globalization is portrayed as an unstoppable force that flattens all obstacles in its path. Modern technology is also seen as inexorable: in the nineteenth century, steamships, telegraph lines, and Gatling guns are said to have paved the way for colonialism and other forms of dominating people and societies. Later, shipping containers and computer networks purportedly pulled the planet deeper into a maelstrom of capitalism. Hård discusses instances that push back against these narratives. For example, in Soviet times, inhabitants of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, preferred to remain inand expandtheir own mud-brick houses rather than move into prefabricated, concreteresidential buildings. Similarly, nineteenth-century Sumatran carpenters ignored the saws brought to them by missionariesand chose to chop down trees with their arch-bladed adzes. And people in colonial India successfully competed with capitalist-run Caribbean sugar plantations, continuing to produce their own muscovado and sell it to local consumers. This book invites readers to view the history of technology and material culture through the lens of diversity. Based on research funded by the European Research Council and conducted in the Global South, Microhistories of Technology: Making the World shows that the spread of modern technologies did not erase artisanal production methods and traditional tools.

This book is open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access Discusses how people around the world challenged the production techniques and products brought by globalization Invites readers to view the history of technology and material culture through the lens of diversity Offers examples of colonized peoples resisting the tools of their subjugation

Autorentext

Ruth Oldenziel is Full Professor in American and European History at the Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands. Her publications include books and articles in American, European, gender, and technology studies: 'Islands' (in Entangled Geographies edited Gabriel Hecht MIT 2011) Cold War Kitchen (MIT, 2009 co-edited with Karin Zachmann); Making Technology Masculine: (AUP 1999); 'Boys and their Toys in America' (Technology and Culture 1997). Mikael Hård is Full Professor of History of Technology at Darmstadt University of Technology, Germany. His publications include Hubris and Hybrids: A Cultural History of Technology and Science (Routledge 2005; co-written with Andrew Jamison) and Urban Machinery: Inside Modern European Cities (MIT Press 2008; co-edited with Thomas J. Misa).

Klappentext

In this open access book, Mikael Hård tells a story of how people around the world challenged the production techniques and products brought by globalization. Retaining their autonomy and freedom, creative individuals selectively adopted or rejected modern gadgets, tools, and machines. In standard historical narratives, globalization is portrayed as an unstoppable force that flattens all obstacles in its path. Modern technology is also seen as inexorable: in the nineteenth century, steamships, telegraph lines, and Gatling guns are said to have paved the way for colonialism and other forms of dominating people and societies. Later, shipping containers and computer networks purportedly pulled the planet deeper into a maelstrom of capitalism. Hård discusses instances that push back against these narratives. For example, in Soviet times, inhabitants of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, preferred to remain in-and expand-their own mud-brick houses rather than move into prefabricated, concreteresidential buildings. Similarly, nineteenth-century Sumatran carpenters ignored the saws brought to them by missionaries-and chose to chop down trees with their arch-bladed adzes. And people in colonial India successfully competed with capitalist-run Caribbean sugar plantations, continuing to produce their own muscovado and sell it to local consumers. This book invites readers to view the history of technology and material culture through the lens of diversity. Based on research funded by the European Research Council and conducted in the Global South, Microhistories of Technology: Making the World shows that the spread of modern technologies did not erase artisanal production methods and traditional tools.

Inhalt

1. Introduction: Honing Local Techniques in a Globalized World.- Part I Nineteenth-Century Ways of Life.- 2. Building Missionary Stations in Southeast Asia: Nias Islanders Deploy Adzes.- 3. Communicating and Trading in West Africa: Talking Drums and Pack Animals.- 4. Withstanding Globalization in Northern India: Farmers Make Sugar for Local Consumption.- Part II Twentieth-Century Improvisations.- 5. Accessing Electricity in East Africa: Dar es Salaam Dwellers Pursue Power.- 6. Creating "Creole" Cuisine in Latin America: Home Cooks Reinvent Batánes.- Part III Postwar Innovations.- 7. Earning a Living in Urban Africa: Maintaining the Native Beer Economy.- 8. Confronting Menstruation in East Asia: Koreans Create Self-made Solutions.- 9. Doing It Yourself in Central Asia: Uzbeks Build Adobe Houses.- 10. Conclusion: Challenging Globalizing Technologies.