About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherOxford University Press, Incorporated

ISBN-100195063414

ISBN-139780195063417

eBay Product ID (ePID)68075

Product Key Features

Number of Pages296 Pages

Publication NameWhen Old Technologies Were New : Thinking about Electric Communication in the Late Nineteenth Century

LanguageEnglish

SubjectHistory

Publication Year1990

FeaturesReprint

TypeTextbook

AuthorCarolyn Marvin

Subject AreaTechnology & Engineering

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.6 in

Item Weight12 Oz

Item Length5.4 in

Item Width8.3 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceCollege Audience

LCCN86-033339

Dewey Edition20

Reviews"Marvin's work is substantial, and her exploration of primary sources laudable. Her collection of anecdotes and significant historical residues is itself rewarding. Add to that her provocative theoretical discussions and you have a work worthy of a scholar's attention."--JournalismHistory, "Deserves close reading by historians of the modern media. Drawing on contemporary popular and professional sources, Carolyn Marvin challenges the traditional view of the social origins of electric media....An important addition."--Journal of American History, "The originality of her analysis and thoughtful questions provide avaluable perspective on this critically important period in the history ofAmerican technology."--American Historical Review, "One has only to think of society's alarms and excursions on the theme of nuclear energy or recombinant DNA to see the relevance and timeliness of the author's engaging sociotechnological insights."--Kirkus Reviews, "Could provide a model for other historians....Throughout the book Marvinchooses arresting and funny examples to illustrate her points....she has appliedtraditional historical techniques rigorously and well and used a number of newmethods with interesting results." --ISIS, "Deserves close reading by historians of the modern media. Drawing on contemporary popular and professional sources, Carolyn Marvin challenges the traditional view of the social origins of electric media...An important addition."--Journal of American History "The originality of her analysis and thoughtful questions provide a valuable perspective on this critically important period in the history of American technology."--American Historical Review "Marvin's work is substantial, and her exploration of primary sources laudable. Her collection of anecdotes and significant historical residues is itself rewarding. Add to that her provocative theoretical discussions and you have a work worthy of a scholar's attention."--Journalism History "This most informative book helps the modern reader to comprehend the speed at which electricity-dependent technologies have altered human perceptions of humankind and the world."--CHOICE "A wide-ranging, informative, and entertaining account of the early years of electric and electronic development, this book re-thinks the traditional artifactual and institutional approaches to media history."--Electrical Review "A solidly researched study."--Library Journal "One has only to think of society's alarms and excursions on the theme of nuclear energy or recombinant DNA to see the relevance and timeliness of the author's engaging sociotechnological insights."--Kirkus Reviews "Could provide a model for other historians...Throughout the book Marvin chooses arresting and funny examples to illustrate her points...[S]he has applied traditional historical techniques rigorously and well and used a number of new methods with interesting results."--ISIS, "This most informative book helps the modern reader to comprehend the speed at which electricity-dependent technologies have altered human perceptions of humankind and the world."--Choice, "Could provide a model for other historians....Throughout the book Marvin chooses arresting and funny examples to illustrate her points....she has applied traditional historical techniques rigorously and well and used a number of new methods with interesting results." --ISIS, "Deserves close reading by historians of the modern media. Drawing on contemporary popular and professional sources, Carolyn Marvin challenges the traditional view of the social origins of electric media....An important addition."-- Journal of American History "The originality of her analysis and thoughtful questions provide a valuable perspective on this critically important period in the history of American technology."-- American Historical Review "Marvin's work is substantial, and her exploration of primary sources laudable. Her collection of anecdotes and significant historical residues is itself rewarding. Add to that her provocative theoretical discussions and you have a work worthy of a scholar's attention."-- Journalism History "This most informative book helps the modern reader to comprehend the speed at which electricity-dependent technologies have altered human perceptions of humankind and the world."-- Choice "A wide-ranging, informative, and entertaining account of the early years of electric and electronic development, this book re-thinks the traditional artifactual and institutional approaches to media history."-- Electrical Review, "A wide-ranging, informative, and entertaining account of the early years of electric and electronic development, this book re-thinks the traditional artifactual and institutional approaches to media history."--Electrical Review, "This most informative book helps the modern reader to comprehend thespeed at which electricity-dependent technologies have altered human perceptionsof humankind and the world."--Choice, "Deserves close reading by historians of the modern media. Drawing on contemporary popular and professional sources, Carolyn Marvin challenges the traditional view of the social origins of electric media...An important addition."--Journal of American History"The originality of her analysis and thoughtful questions provide a valuable perspective on this critically important period in the history of American technology."--American Historical Review"Marvin's work is substantial, and her exploration of primary sources laudable. Her collection of anecdotes and significant historical residues is itself rewarding. Add to that her provocative theoretical discussions and you have a work worthy of a scholar's attention."--Journalism History"This most informative book helps the modern reader to comprehend the speed at which electricity-dependent technologies have altered human perceptions of humankind and the world."--CHOICE"A wide-ranging, informative, and entertaining account of the early years of electric and electronic development, this book re-thinks the traditional artifactual and institutional approaches to media history."--Electrical Review"A solidly researched study."--Library Journal"One has only to think of society's alarms and excursions on the theme of nuclear energy or recombinant DNA to see the relevance and timeliness of the author's engaging sociotechnological insights."--Kirkus Reviews"Could provide a model for other historians...Throughout the book Marvin chooses arresting and funny examples to illustrate her points...[S]he has applied traditional historical techniques rigorously and well and used a number of new methods with interesting results."--ISIS, "Deserves close reading by historians of the modern media. Drawing on contemporary popular and professional sources, Carolyn Marvin challenges the traditional view of the social origins of electric media....An important addition."--Journal of American History "The originality of her analysis and thoughtful questions provide a valuable perspective on this critically important period in the history of American technology."--American Historical Review "Marvin's work is substantial, and her exploration of primary sources laudable. Her collection of anecdotes and significant historical residues is itself rewarding. Add to that her provocative theoretical discussions and you have a work worthy of a scholar's attention."--Journalism History "This most informative book helps the modern reader to comprehend the speed at which electricity-dependent technologies have altered human perceptions of humankind and the world."--Choice "A wide-ranging, informative, and entertaining account of the early years of electric and electronic development, this book re-thinks the traditional artifactual and institutional approaches to media history."--Electrical Review, "The originality of her analysis and thoughtful questions provide a valuable perspective on this critically important period in the history of American technology."--American Historical Review

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal384.0973

Table Of ContentIntroduction1. Inventing the Expert: Technological Literacy as Social Currency2. Communitiy and Class Order, Progress Close to Home3. Locating the Body in Electrical Space and Time, Competing Authorities4. Dazzling the Multitude, Original Media Spectacles5. Annihilating Space, Times, and Difference, Experiments in Cultural HomogenizationEpilogueNotesIndex

Edition DescriptionReprint

SynopsisIn the history of electronic communication, the last quarter of the nineteenth century holds a special place, for it was during this period that the telephone, phonograph, electric light, wireless, and cinema were all invented. In When old Technologies Were New, Carolyn Marvin explores how two of these new inventions--the telephone and the electric light--were publicly envisioned at the end of the nineteenth century, as seen in specialized engineering journals and popular media. Marvin pays particular attention to the telephone, describing how it disrupted established social relations, unsettling customary ways of dividing the private person and family from the more public setting of the community. On the lighter side, she describes how people spoke louder when calling long distance, and how they worried about catching contagious diseases over the phone. A particularly powerful chapter deals with telephonic precursors of radio broadcasting--the "Telephone Herald" in New York and the "Telefon Hirmondo" of Hungary--and the conflict between the technological development of broadcasting and the attempt to impose a homogenous, ethnocentric variant of Anglo-Saxon culture on the public. While focusing on the way professionals in the electronics field tried to control the new media, Marvin also illuminates the broader social impact, presenting a wide-ranging, informative, and entertaining account of the early years of electronic media., This informative and innovative account of the early years of the electronic media assesses how the telephone and the electric light were publicly envisioned at the end of the 19th century., In the history of electronic communication, the last quarter of the nineteenth century holds a special place, for it was during this period that the telephone, phonograph, electric light, wireless, and cinema were all invented. In When old Technologies Were New , Carolyn Marvin explores how two of these new inventions--the telephone and the electric light--were publicly envisioned at the end of the nineteenth century, as seen in specialized engineering journals and popular media. Marvin pays particular attention to the telephone, describing how it disrupted established social relations, unsettling customary ways of dividing the private person and family from the more public setting of the community. On the lighter side, she describes how people spoke louder when calling long distance, and how they worried about catching contagious diseases over the phone. A particularly powerful chapter deals with telephonic precursors of radio broadcasting--the "Telephone Herald " in New York and the "Telefon Hirmondo" of Hungary--and the conflict between the technological development of broadcasting and the attempt to impose a homogenous, ethnocentric variant of Anglo-Saxon culture on the public. While focusing on the way professionals in the electronics field tried to control the new media, Marvin also illuminates the broader social impact, presenting a wide-ranging, informative, and entertaining account of the early years of electronic media., In the history of electronic communication, the last quarter of the nineteenth century holds a special place, for it was during this period that the telephone, phonograph, electric light, wireless, and cinema were all invented. In When old Technologies Were New, Carolyn Marvin explores how two of these new inventions--the telephone and the electric light--were publicly envisioned at the end of the nineteenth century, as seen in specialized engineeringjournals and popular media. Marvin pays particular attention to the telephone, describing how it disrupted established social relations, unsettling customary ways of dividing the private person and family from themore public setting of the community. On the lighter side, she describes how people spoke louder when calling long distance, and how they worried about catching contagious diseases over the phone. A particularly powerful chapter deals with telephonic precursors of radio broadcasting--the "Telephone Herald" in New York and the "Telefon Hirmondo" of Hungary--and the conflict between the technological development of broadcasting and the attempt to impose a homogenous, ethnocentric variantof Anglo-Saxon culture on the public. While focusing on the way professionals in the electronics field tried to control the new media, Marvin also illuminates the broader social impact, presenting awide-ranging, informative, and entertaining account of the early years of electronic media.

LC Classification NumberHE7775