Technology and socio-cultural factors equally infuence each other.
Technological determinism: one-way infuence of technology on society and culture
Social determinism: social factors determine if the technology fails or not
Week 1: speech – print
Texts:
- Garrioch: urban history, speech, church bells
- Anderson: how print developed and started
In urban history, speech formed the most important way of communicaton. There were no
loud sounds like horns, so carriages and church bells functoned as communicaton.
Around 1600-1800, bells were the most important way of communicaton.
The society is called an acoustic communityi, which was oral.
Writng did exist, but it was restricted. Writng spread through Europe around 1000BC and
the catholic church had the most books as Latn was their internatonal language. Only elite
people could read as everything was writen in Latn.
When Gutenberg invented the printng press in 1440, the oral community changed into:
visual, literate and cultural. This is called the technical transformation.
After this all, printng evolved. Around 1800s cylinders were invented, people used cheap
paper so that many books could be printed. New print forms were introduced: travel guides,
comic strips and illustrated newspapers.
Print also made natonalism possible as it was easy to spread a message and share/gain
informaton.
Example of how print could trigger situatons and issues:
Luther’s poster Protestant Reformaton (in Germany) 1517
Week 2: proximity - distance
Texts:
- Schivelbusch: train travel, panoramic view
- Balbi: telegraphs
Networks already existed before 1800 but they were just slower: the industrializatin
changed the speed if netwirks.
Modern networks
First wave: 1800-1860
Canals, postal networks, railroads, telegraphs
Second wave: 1850-1900
Telephone, radio, gas/electricity supplies
, Modern consciousness of space and time
Everyone was used to travelling by horse-drawn carriages so the train was very new and
weird. The train was experienced as projectle: you were shot through the landscape, and
lost control of senses. This made for a loss of continuityi, because the speed of the train
disrupts the view.
- There is an overstmulaton of view
- The close environment cannot be grasped
- Panoramic view: you can look into the distance.
- This also impacts media producton and contributon: novels and newspapers
become popular for train travels. (1st and 2nd class)
Result: reorganizaton of sensory experience
Working class was not used to travelling, so for them this was very new. The train carriages
were over-crowded for them and not quiet at all.
For the 1st and 2nd class, it was very quiet and there was not much communicaton.
In 1848 there was modern tourism The Grand Tour.
Telecommunication
Telecommunicaton was diferent from other communicaton over distance because:
- Message delivery from point-to-point
- Sent without physical transportaton
- It was interactve: people could respond
Telegraphs became a common way of communicaton, in 1790 the optcal
telegraph was found in France. This was also called Napoleon’s Telegraph
because he used it a lot. They are crucial components of natonal
communicaton strategies and politcs manages them with diferent
purposes according to natonal ideals and visions.
After a while, the electric telegraph was found in 1830s, one form of this was morse code.
Technological determinism: one-way infuence of technology on society and culture
Social determinism: social factors determine if the technology fails or not
Week 1: speech – print
Texts:
- Garrioch: urban history, speech, church bells
- Anderson: how print developed and started
In urban history, speech formed the most important way of communicaton. There were no
loud sounds like horns, so carriages and church bells functoned as communicaton.
Around 1600-1800, bells were the most important way of communicaton.
The society is called an acoustic communityi, which was oral.
Writng did exist, but it was restricted. Writng spread through Europe around 1000BC and
the catholic church had the most books as Latn was their internatonal language. Only elite
people could read as everything was writen in Latn.
When Gutenberg invented the printng press in 1440, the oral community changed into:
visual, literate and cultural. This is called the technical transformation.
After this all, printng evolved. Around 1800s cylinders were invented, people used cheap
paper so that many books could be printed. New print forms were introduced: travel guides,
comic strips and illustrated newspapers.
Print also made natonalism possible as it was easy to spread a message and share/gain
informaton.
Example of how print could trigger situatons and issues:
Luther’s poster Protestant Reformaton (in Germany) 1517
Week 2: proximity - distance
Texts:
- Schivelbusch: train travel, panoramic view
- Balbi: telegraphs
Networks already existed before 1800 but they were just slower: the industrializatin
changed the speed if netwirks.
Modern networks
First wave: 1800-1860
Canals, postal networks, railroads, telegraphs
Second wave: 1850-1900
Telephone, radio, gas/electricity supplies
, Modern consciousness of space and time
Everyone was used to travelling by horse-drawn carriages so the train was very new and
weird. The train was experienced as projectle: you were shot through the landscape, and
lost control of senses. This made for a loss of continuityi, because the speed of the train
disrupts the view.
- There is an overstmulaton of view
- The close environment cannot be grasped
- Panoramic view: you can look into the distance.
- This also impacts media producton and contributon: novels and newspapers
become popular for train travels. (1st and 2nd class)
Result: reorganizaton of sensory experience
Working class was not used to travelling, so for them this was very new. The train carriages
were over-crowded for them and not quiet at all.
For the 1st and 2nd class, it was very quiet and there was not much communicaton.
In 1848 there was modern tourism The Grand Tour.
Telecommunication
Telecommunicaton was diferent from other communicaton over distance because:
- Message delivery from point-to-point
- Sent without physical transportaton
- It was interactve: people could respond
Telegraphs became a common way of communicaton, in 1790 the optcal
telegraph was found in France. This was also called Napoleon’s Telegraph
because he used it a lot. They are crucial components of natonal
communicaton strategies and politcs manages them with diferent
purposes according to natonal ideals and visions.
After a while, the electric telegraph was found in 1830s, one form of this was morse code.
