Technology in World Civilization

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.

Arnold Pacey is the author of The Culture of Technology, Meaning in Technology, and The Maze of Ingenuity, all published by the MIT Press. He is a recipient of the Leonardo da Vinci Medal for the History of Technology. Francesca Bray's recent books include Technology, Gender and History in Imperial China and Rice: Global Networks and New Histories. She is coeditor of the forthcoming Cambridge History of Technology and a recipient of the Leonardo da Vinci Medal for the History of Technology.