Companion to American Technology

Carroll Pursell is Adeline Barry Davee Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at Case Western Reserve University, and Adjunct professor of Modern History at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. He is the author of White Heat: People and Technology (1994) and The Machine in America: A Social History of Technology (2nd edition, 2007), and the editor of Technology in America: A History of Individuals and Ideas (2nd edition, 1990) and American Technology (Blackwell, 2000).

• Notes on Contributors viiIntroduction 1Carroll PursellPART I BEGINNINGS1 Technology in Colonial North America 9Robert B. Gordon2 The American Industrial Revolution 31James C. WilliamsPART II SITES OF PRODUCTION3 The Technology of Production 55Carroll Pursell4 Technology and Agriculture in Twentieth-Century America 69Deborah Fitzgerald5 House and Home 83Gail Cooper6 The City and Technology 97Joel A. Tarr7 Technology and the Environment 113Betsy Mendelsohn8 Government and Technology 132Carroll Pursell9 Medicine and Technology 156James M. EdmonsonPART III SITES OF CONTEST10 The North American “Body–Machine” Complex 179Chris Hables Gray11 Gender and Technology 199Rebecca Herzig12 Labor and Technology 212Arwen P. MohunPART IV TECHNOLOGICAL SYSTEMS13 The Automotive Transportation System: Cars and Highways in Twentieth-Century America 233Bruce E. Seely14 Airplanes 255Roger E. Bilstein15 Technology in Space 275Roger D. Launius16 Nuclear Technology 298M. Joshua Silverman17 Television 321Douglas Gomery18 Computers and the Internet: Braiding Irony, Paradox, and Possibility 340Jeffrey R. YostPART V PRODUCING AND READING TECHNOLOGICAL CULTURE19 The Profession of Engineering in America 363Bruce Sinclair20 Popular Culture and Technology in the Twentieth Century 385Molly W. Berger21 Art and Technology 406Henry Adams22 Critics of Technology 429David E. NyeIndex 453

"These essays serve the purpose of establishing a base of information for the reader to better understand the process of technology, how it is defined, and how it can be traced throughout the history of the nation ... An excellent collection." Journal of Southern History "The very breadth of the subject matter and analytical techniques in these contributions is extremely impressive. A stimulating collection."History "Highly recommended."Choice