Technology in World Civilization, revised and expanded edition: A Thousand-Year History
- Length: 356 pages
- Edition: R
- Language: English
- Publisher: The MIT Press
- Publication Date: 2021-08-03
- ISBN-10: 0262542463
- ISBN-13: 9780262542463
- Sales Rank: #199573 (See Top 100 Books)
The new edition of a milestone work on the global history of technology.
This milestone history of technology, first published in 1990 and now revised and expanded in light of recent research, broke new ground by taking a global view, avoiding the conventional Eurocentric perspective and placing the development of technology squarely in the context of a “world civilization.” Case studies include “technological dialogues” between China and West Asia in the eleventh century, medieval African states and the Islamic world, and the United States and Japan post-1950. It examines railway empires through the examples of Russia and Japan and explores current synergies of innovation in energy supply and smartphone technology through African cases.
The book uses the term “technological dialogue” to challenges the top-down concept of “technology transfer,” showing instead that technologies are typically modified to fit local needs and conditions, often triggering further innovation. The authors trace these encounters and exchanges over a thousand years, examining changes in such technologies as agriculture, firearms, printing, electricity, and railroads. A new chapter brings the narrative into the twenty-first century, discussing technological developments including petrochemicals, aerospace, and digitalization from often unexpected global viewpoints and asking what new kind of industrial revolution is needed to meet the challenges of the Anthropocene.
Contents Preface to the Revised Edition Coauthor’s Note Credits for Illustrations 1. An Age of Asian Technology, AD 700–1100 A Balance in World History Hydraulic Engineering A New City in Mesopotamia Indian Ocean Trade Buddhists and Technology Perspectives 2. Complexes and Contrasts in Basic Technology, AD 1100–1260 Asian Conflicts Spinning Wheels and Winding Machines Technology Complexes and Food Production Fine Technology The Years of Upheaval 3. Movements West, 1150–1490 Islam and Africa Islam and Europe Making Paper Crusaders and Mongols Gunpowder and Firearms The Diffusion of Technology The Fourteenth-Century Watershed 4. Agroecology in the Americas and Asian Trade Independent Invention Biological Resources Indian Ocean Shipping Silver from Peru and Gold from Africa 5. Gunpowder Empires, 1450–1650 Turkish Ascendancy Gunpowder and Society Japanese Muskets 6. Printing, Books, and Ideas about Technology, 1550–1750 Developments in Printing Concepts in Organization and Mechanization Innovation at a Silk Mill Factories and Plantations 7. Three Industrial Movements, 1700–1815 Problems of Resources Steam Engines, Iron, and Coal A Second Industrial Movement The Challenge of Quality Imports A Third Industrial Movement Deindustrialization 8. Guns and Rails: Asia, Britain, and America Asian Stimulus 9. Railway Empires, 1850–1940 Rails in Russia Japanese Technology Innovation and Dialogue Imperialist Dimensions Silver Geometry Production Symbolism 10. Scientific Discoveries and Technical Dreams, 1860–1960 Electricity and Chemistry The New Engine The Swallows Fly Laughing Dreams of New Worlds Atoms for Peace Policies for Technology in China Microelectronics 11. Technologies for Health, Food, and Basic Needs Contrasting Visions of Technology Ecological Particularism The Green Revolution African Agriculture Agroforestry in Temperate Regions Household-Level Innovation in Rural Africa Significance of the African Experience 12. Into the Twenty-First Century Waves of Innovation Twentieth-Century Technologies—Semiconductors and Communication Photovoltaic and Other Innovations Environmental Limits The Twenty-First-Century Industrial Revolution Notes Preface to the Revised Edition Coauthor’s Note 1. An Age of Asian Technology, AD 700–1100 2. Complexes and Contrasts in Basic Technology, AD 1100–1260 3. Movements West, 1150–1490 4. Agroecology in the Americas and Asian Trade 5. Gunpowder Empires, 1450–1650 6. Printing, Books, and Ideas about Technology, 1550–1750 7. Three Industrial Movements, 1700–1815 8. Guns and Rails 9. Railway Empires, 1850–1940 10. Scientific Discoveries and Technical Dreams, 1860–1960 11. Technologies for Health, Food, and Basic Needs 12. Into the Twenty-First Century Bibliography Index
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