A Social History of American Technology

by Ruth Schwartz Cowan

For over 250 years American technology has been regarded as a unique hallmark of American culture and an important factor in American prosperity. Despite this American history has rarely been told from the perspective of the history of technology. A Social History of American Technology fills this gap by surveying the history of American technology from the tools used by the earliest native inhabitants to the technological systems -- cars and computers, aircraft and antibiotics -- we are familiar with today. Cowan makes use of the most recent scholarship to explain how the unique characteristics of American cultures and American geography have affected the technologies that have been invented, manufactured, and used throughout the years. She also focuses on the key individuals and ideas that have shaped important technological developments. The text explains how various technologies have affected the ways in which Americans work, govern, cook, transport, communicate, maintain their health, and reproduce. Cowan demonstrates that technological change has always been closely related to social development, and explores the multiple, complex relationships that have existed between such diverse social agents as households and businesses, the scientific community and the defense establishment, artists and inventors. Divided into three sections -- colonial America, industrialization, the 20th century -- A Social History of American Technology is ideal for courses in American social and economic history, as a correlated text for the American history survey, as well as for courses that focus on the history of American technology. It offers students the unique opportunity to learn not only how profoundly technological change has affected the American way of life, but how profoundly the American way of life has affected technology.

Genres: History, Technology, Science, Textbooks, Nonfiction, Social, American History

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 30, 1996

About the author

Ruth Schwartz Cowan is an historian of science, technology and medicine, with degrees from Barnard College (BA), the University of California at Berkeley (MA) and The Johns Hopkins University (PhD). She was a member of the History Department of the State University of New York at Stony Brook from 1967 to 2002, attaining the rank of Professor in 1984. Between 1997 and 2002 she was the Chair of the Honors College at SUNY-Stony Brook; she also served as Director of Women's Studies from 1985-1990. As of October, 2002 she is Professor Emerita at Stony Brook.

(from http://www.cns.ucsb.edu/people/ruth-s...)

Reviews

[tira · Rating 1 out of 5]

⭐️1.5 // i read this for a class i took this past semester. this was a very dry read, even for a textbook. the configuration and order of the text was confusing at times. the book was informative and featured some interesting insight into the history and development of technology but i would’ve liked to have seen more emphasis on the sociological impact that technology had on the world as a whole.

[Frank Stein · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing work that covers almost the entire history of American technology while providing interesting anecdotes and narratives along the way. Every chapter, on, say, Taxpayers, Generals, and Aviation, is organized around a theme and presents a clear argument, such as, that the entire history of the US aviation industry was largely a sub-history of the military. (It did shape and create almost all of what we know as aviation). So this book has 13 distinct parts that all work independently, but all give an important piece of the whole. For understanding everything from the effects of Oliver Evans' automatic flour mill of 1795 (the first completely automated "factory"?) to the nuclear bomb, this book is unparalleled.

[Yi · Rating 4 out of 5]

疫情在家，花了差不多两个月才断断续续看完了这本《A Social History of American Technology》--- Ruth Schwartz Cowan。

《A Social History of American Technology》--- Ruth Schwartz Cowan
一开始拿到手里并不是多吸引人的封面。挺厚的一本书，里面字体很小密密麻麻。若不是cc选给我，可能挺难坚持看完的。但实话说书不可貌相，这本书很有意思。通过描述美国社会从殖民地开始到现代社会的科技发展，展示了整个美国的历史和文化走向。美国作为近代社会科技发展的龙头老大，它的科技也隐隐映射着整个近代社会的科技发展。所以对于对科技发展感兴趣或者对美国人文社会感兴趣的读者来说，此书都是一本非常详尽生动的框架书。

何为框架书？不久前看到比尔盖茨的一个视频说“如何学习”，里头就说到最有效的学习方式是主动建立起一个话题的体系框架。当你对一个体系有了粗犷的了解，每接触体系中的一个新话题都能主动将其归类和连接。就仿佛“卷福”脑海里的知识库，脑海中自成目录，每个新知识点都自有其适当的归属。能唤醒连接的新话题更容易引起人的兴趣，也更容易记住和引发更深的思考。就仿佛当年的元素周期表的建立，先根据已有的元素寻求规律，通过此规律更深刻的了解已有元素的特性，甚至根据此规律查漏补缺寻找”理应存在“却还未被发现的元素。至于框架如何建立，方法大概有很多种在此就不多深究了，最重要的点大概就是相较于被动的博览群书，更是要主动留意自己在意的话题之间的规律，主动思考建立连接。而这本书就像是一个已经搜寻了整个美国科技历史的学者，将他所得归纳整理成发展的框架，一并呈现给你。


此书将美国的科技发展分成了三个阶段：初始（In the beginning)、工业（Industrialization)和二十一世纪（Twentieth-Century Technologies)。每个小章节都在展示当年科技工具的同时引申此工具出现的背景，当时社会的眼光，对当年社会的影响，以及如何萌芽了下一任的科技。



--- 内容总结---



初始阶段被分为了三大章：土地土著和殖民、农业和家庭工作（这个翻译很有趣，叫做Husbandry and Huswifery) 和 殖民地学徒。 这几个大章节从英国人刚登录开始说起，十三个殖民地根据其不同的温度湿度环境发展了不同的擅长工具，再加上与当地土著在不同时期的不同友善关系渐渐发展出每个殖民地自己独特的繁荣特点。地广人稀工具简单使农业成为了最早期的生产方式，因为土地太多竞争较少，渐渐形成了早期自给自足的生活模式。从播种收割到制衣囤食，大多工作都可自己完成。但即使这样，当时也已经存在了特色的分工，比如有些家庭专攻编织或蜡烛，以此换取他们所不擅长成品。早期的性别分工已经很明确，劳作很繁杂总是需要更多的人手，技术学徒虽有萌芽，但积累了几年大多都会离开自己成家，毕竟未开发的土地太多，他们大可以选择”为自己打工“。


早期农业工具
工业阶段分为了六大章：早期工业、交通演化、发明家企业家工程师、工业社会和技术系统、日常和平凡的生活 和 美国的科技想法。这些章节很详尽的讲述了不同领域的工业发展，比如最早的水车发明如何大大增加了谷物去壳的效率，这种效率又如何改变了家家户户的生产结构和联系，围绕水车坊逐渐形成小的乡镇概念，这些小的设备发明又逐渐产生了专利保护的概念以及工厂的概念。谁先拿到专利是一场战斗，而拿到专利之后确意想不到原本用来发明的精力全部被用来消耗在追讨罚金的恶性斗争里。发明家、企业家、工程师，这些围绕产品不同阶段所引申出的称号不仅分化了职业甚至逐渐重新定义了学校。新的容易操作的不需要体力的机器被发明出来，工厂为了最大程度消减开支开始招用便宜的非熟练学徒以及女性。曾经的熟练工人感到危机开始自发形成维护自己利益的工会，而使用仪器便等同于”娘弱“的心理也渐渐形成，这样的心理如今也延伸在各类影视作品里：比如《断背山》里用”刀切火鸡“和”电动刀切火鸡“对比来展示角色心理深层的”阳刚性“。


Oliver Evans 的磨坊结构
二十一世纪分为四大章：汽车和它的用途、纳税人将军和航空、通信技术和社会控制 和 生物科技。汽车的发展如何促使交通规则和安全协会的成立；制作交通规则和成立协会的钱该谁出；高精尖技术如何通过战争发展；战后高精的技术又如何走向平民。第一个发现无线电的人意识不到它能带给社会的带来的意义；无数将改变世界的技术常常在十年二十年之后才被人看见它的商业价值；杂交和转基因改变了整个社会的生产模式（这里顺便辟谣了转基因公司故意卖无法重复播种的种子是为了最大自身利益。事实上是杂交或转基因认为控制的种子原本就是通过人为手段控制这一代的表现形式，二次播种是不能保证上一代的表现特性的。这是生物发展的自身特性。）；盘尼西林改变了战争的优势走向也第一次引发了药片的专利保护；避孕药原本设计给穷困和医疗条件落后地区，想要减缓不受控制的人口增长以及减轻落后的医疗压力，却不曾想在本土打开了”女性生育权“的讨论以及引发了一系列”女性平权“的运动。


二战时期给盘尼西林药厂建大楼的宣传册
毕竟是1997年发表的书，学新兴科技的期望无法附加于它，但科技发展与社会文化互相影响的轨迹在今天也可以看到影子。对于了解美国社会，建立相关知识体系还有学习科技文化的的单词是一本很值得推荐的书了。不过此书对我而言新词汇太多，真的查起来也是辛苦，所以大部分不认识的都猜着跳过了。

[Steven Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still one of the greatest college Humanities textbooks. A great way to read up on how technology shaped cultural changes and advanced our world and affected as from a socialogical standpoint. Leanr what things changed becuase of technology and what did not.

[Rhys Lindmark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much more about the details of the technology (physical designs, etc.) instead of the co-evolving loop between the tech and society.

[Bella · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruth Cowan attempts to show how technology has developed since the colonial days through the present trends of biotechnology. This is a daunting task and it is pulled off as well as can be expected. There is a lot of information to be found here but a great deal more is missing. This book is still the best general overview on the history of technology and while more can be done this is a good start. If you want to understand how technology shaped our society you can't go wrong with this book.

The early chapters on the colonial economy are very well done and tightly analyzed. After that it starts to spread apart a little and the technology jumps around. The transportation revolution chapter is one of the more disappointing for me. While she does a decent job on the railroads she completely misses the significance of the canals on the early development in America. Her chapters on innovation and technological systems provide nice summaries of the relevant literature. Most of the chapters leading up to the twentieth century are filler that really don't address too many technological issues. The automobile chapter tries to do an amazingly quick history of cars and a lot gets left out in the process with even more wrong. The communications chapter does a better job of showing the evolution while looking at the technologies. The history of the military-academic-industrial complex provides an interesting look at how the Manhattan Project and NASA changed the way technology was developed. Cowan does a very good job on this particular topic and it is probably her best chapter in the later part of the book. The final chapter is on biotechnology and covers genetic corn, birth control and penicillin. These advancements while important are not really given justice.

[Chuck Kollars · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is built around the theme of how technology changes affect society (for example farmers' wives probably spent time slopping the hogs, whereas a few years later factory workers' wives spent time vacuuming). It's an "overview", describing the U.S. all the way from colonial days to recently.

It's an easy (but of course not "gripping") read. It's neither folksy nor scholarly, hitting the sweet spot in the middle.

The author is apparently very knowledgeable. Mostly I don't have the background to double-check (although the few things I've read are consistent). But the chapter 'Communications Technologies and Social Control', particularly the division on 'Computers', cover things I've been deeply aware of my entire adult life. And the coverage is so excellent I learned a few new things I've never seen in print anywhere else before. (In fact I was so impressed by the level of detail that I assumed that chapter was much longer than the others, except when I went back to check the chapter is _not_ longer than the others. It just covers an incredible amount in a very few pages.)

Although the author never uses the rather uncommon term "second creation", the book includes one of the best definitions -and some historical context- for that concept that I've seen.

[Alex Rubenstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent history of how technology has shaped society, in terms of the political, social, and economic landscapes. I appreciate how Cowan presents her history in a balanced manner, ultimately leaving the reader with an appreciation of two key things: 1) technology that becomes entrenched in our culture and provides immense profit is bound to be replaced in time, regardless of its efficiency, and 2) though technology can be thought of as easing our lives and bettering the world, it is best viewed as a double-edged sword, solving problems while simultaneously creating new ones. I thought this was most evident with the advent of antibiotics and saving lives yet creating overpopulation, the automobile providing new autonomy yet polluting, and, though she doesn't discuss it in 1997, the internet providing unlimited access to information, while at the same time scattering our attention.

Other aspects of history were simply fascinating, such as the railroad and radio industries, as well as how we transitioned from human to animal to water to steam to coal to electric to perhaps newer forms of power (e.g. nuclear, biomass, geothermal, etc.) Very interesting.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

informative, but sometimes dry

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most influential and profoundly interesting books I have ever read. This history equally shows both the progress and the problems that come with technology.

[Brian Jung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comprehensive articles about the influence of technology on society but looks like that it lacks of indight.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am usually not really interested in technology but this was a surprisingly interesting book!