Retooling: A Historian Confronts Technological Change

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Rosalind Williams (Bern Dibner Professor of the History of Science & Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Retooling

A Historian Confronts Technological Change

Rosalind Williams (Bern Dibner Professor of the History of Science & Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

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English

MIT Press
11 August 2003

Education; Impact of science & technology on society

Series: MIT Press

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.

When Warren Kendall Lewis left Spring Garden Farm in Delaware in 1901 to enter MIT, he had no idea that he was becoming part of a profession that would bring untold good to his country but would also contribute to the death of his family's farm. In this book written a century later, Professor Lewis's granddaughter, a cultural historian who has served in the administration of MIT, uses her grandfather's and her own experience to make sense of the rapidly changing role of technology in contemporary life.

Rosalind Williams served as Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education at MIT from 1995 through 2000. From this vantage point, she watched a wave of changes, some planned and some unexpected, transform many aspects of social and working life-from how students are taught to how research and accounting are done-at this major site of technological innovation. In Retooling, she uses this local knowledge to draw more general insights into contemporary society's obsession with technology.

Today technology-driven change defines human desires, anxieties, memories, imagination, and experiences of time and space in unprecedented ways. But technology, and specifically information technology, does not simply influence culture and society; it is itself inherently cultural and social. If there is to be any reconciliation between technological change and community, Williams argues, it will come from connecting technological and social innovation-a connection demonstrated in the history that unfolds in this absorbing book.

By: Rosalind Williams (Bern Dibner Professor of the History of Science & Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 203mm, Width: 137mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 286g
ISBN: 9780262731638
ISBN 10: 0262731630
Series: MIT Press
Pages: 270
Publication Date: 11 August 2003
Recommended Age: From 18
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , A / AS level , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

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

Reviews for Retooling: A Historian Confronts Technological Change

We have Williams to thank for a thoughtful, cogent, and historically well-informed analysis of the engineering profession. -- Karl Stephan * IEEE * Rosalind Williams... has written a very personal, autobiographical book. -- Paul E. Ceruzzi * Isis * Easy to read and understand, William's work provides interesting insights on modern culture and our obsession with technology. * Library Journal * An epic account of the struggle to humanize engineering education. * Kirkus Reviews * ...a fascinating account of the new relationships between technology and culture...a literary jewel. -- Manuel Castells * Project Muse *

Winner of <PrizeName>Winner, Jackets Category, 2003 Association of American University Presses (AAUP) Book, Jacket, and Journal Show</PrizeName> 2003
Winner of AAUP Book, Jacket and Journal Show Design Awards: Jackets & Covers Category 2003.
Winner of Winner, Jackets Category, 2003 Association of American University Presses (AAUP) Book, Jacket, and Journal Show 2003