Retooling: A Historian Confronts Technological Change (Mit Press) - Softcover

Williams, Rosalind

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0262731630 ISBN 13: 9780262731638

Publisher: The MIT Press, 2003

Synopsis

A humanistic account of the changing role of technology in society, by a historian and a former Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education at MIT.

About this title

About the Author:

Rosalind Williams is Bern Dibner Professor of the History of Science and Technology.

From Library Journal:

As the subtitle of her book suggests, Williams is a cultural historian. From 1995 through 2000, she was the dean of students and undergraduate education at MIT. As a humanist at a school known mostly for engineering, she is able to offer a fresh take on the impact of technology on society. Her narrative is laced with family and childhood stories (her grandfather came to MIT in 1901, little knowing that he would never return to the family farm), which helps readers understand how technology affects us on a personal level. David C. Mowery and Nathan Rosenberg's more scholarly Paths of Innovation also discusses the consequences of technological change, but while it provides evidence of how technological innovation in the United States led to strong economic growth, it does not delve into the social consequences. Easy to read and understand, Williams's work provides interesting insights on modern culture and our obsession with technology. Recommended for large public and academic libraries.
John B. Napp, Univ. of Toledo Lib., OH
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0262731630
• ISBN 13: 9780262731638
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 270