Technology and the culture of modernity in Britain and Germany, 1890-1945
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Bibliographic Information
Technology and the culture of modernity in Britain and Germany, 1890-1945
（New studies in European history）
Cambridge University Press, 2005
- : hardback
- : pbk
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ISBN:9780521093149: "First published 2005. This digitally printed version 2008"--T.p. verso; "Paperback re-issue"--Back cover; Size: 23 cm
Includes bibliographical references (p. 286-314) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This book examines the obsession for new technology that swept through Britain and Germany between 1890 and 1945. Drawing on a wide range of popular contemporary writings and pictorial material, it explains how, despite frequently feeling overwhelmed by innovations, Germans and Britons nurtured a long-lasting fascination for aviation, glamorous passenger liners and film as they lived through profound social transformations and two vicious wars. Public discussions about these 'modern wonders' were torn between fears of novel risks and cultural decay on the one hand, and passionate support generated by nationalism and social fantasies on the other. While the investigation focuses on tensions between technophobia and euphoria, the book also examines the relationship between responses to technology and the differing political cultures in Britain and Germany before and after 1933. This innovative study will prove invaluable reading to anyone interested in comparative cultural history as well as the history of technology.
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. 'Modern Wonders': technological innovation and public ambivalence
- 3. Accidents: the physical risks of technology
- 4. Elusive illusions: the cultural and political properties of film
- 5. Pilots as popular heroes: risk, gender and the aeroplane
- 6. 'Floating palaces': passenger liners as objects of pleasure
- 7. Fantasy as social practice: the rise of amateur film
- 8. Technology and the nation in Britain and Germany
- 9. Conclusion
- Bibliography.
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