The course is focuses on American society, with emphasis on respones to technological interventions and inventions, and ending with considerations of the impacts of certain technologies on the landscapes and economies of the United States in our own time.
First Essay Question:
For the three essay questions listed below, choose one to answer.
1. Technological change in the United States since mid-19th century industrialization has brought about a culture that both embraces technological innovation as a central defining element of American identity yet also constantly fears its altering effects. Discu this statement with regard to at least two of the following sets of the technologies: the railroad, hydroelectric dams, the factory system, the automobile, atomic weaponry.
2. How have hydroelectric dams and nuclear energy altered the value system and the landscapes of the American Southwest since the 1920s? Do they fit into the American technological narrative of progress and community and nation-building?
3. John Gast's extremely popular photolithograph of 1872," American Progress," contains a narrative of American destiny in which variou forms of technology play central roles. Analyze the picture(you do not need to include a copy,but you may if you wish) with regard to the following: the nature of the relationship between technology and narrative;the centrality of technology in Americans' views of themselves,the dominant culture,and their destiny.
Second Essay Question:
We generally view technological change and innovation as positive; that is, we assume that our world will be more comfortable, secure, or efficient place, somehow improved from current conditions. David Nye uggets that this assumption may be false. There may be developments that make us less secure, that make our lives, even life itself, more fragile and vulnerable. The sense of vulnerability may be immediate; or the results may be slower, longer-term, but nonetheless ultimately threatening and even upending. Have we reached a point at which we are , or need to be, re-balancing our commitment to technological change with our other values? Which values?
Discus thi question with regard to technological developments since the 19th century, including the atomic bomb, and by extension other developemnts that may be influencing such doubtful conditions as global warming(e.g. ,the automobile) or species extinction. Do not use footnotes, but be precise in your references to readings in the cousre.