Masculinity, Power and Technology

Ulf Mellström is Associate Professor within the Department of Technology and Social Change at Linköping University and also within the Department of Behavioural Sciences at the University of Skovde, Sweden.

• Contents: Prologue; Introduction; The ethnographic setting; 'What's on the first page...?' A discussion of the reciprocal making of an ethnography; Becoming a man and growing up male; The embodiment of a mechanic; Working hard and making money; Transgressing gender and class; Epilogue - towards intersectional analyses of masculinities; References; Index.

'Ulf Mellström situates his work at the intersection of two lively anthropological research areas, gender and technology, and makes a significant contribution to both. His style is lively, and his personal and ethnographic encounter with the field is vividly portrayed. All this makes Masculinity, Power and Technology very attractive reading.' Professor Ulf Hannerz, Stockholm University, Sweden 'Mellström has written an extraordinary book. He brings together insights from studies of masculinities, science and technology, and anthropology in order to illuminate the lives of Chinese mechanics in Penang. Mellström clearly has a great talent for 'hanging out with the guys' and is sensitive to the nuances of everyday life in the workshops of Penang. Moreover, he is able to convey his experiences and insights in a way that is thoroughly engaging for the reader. Reading this book is like reading a novel - and this is meant as a compliment given the turgidness of much contemporary academic prose. It is also a wonderful reflection on how to write about sensory experiences. For that, we have to thank Mellström's research participants/collaborators who were as curious about his working practices as he was about theirs.' Dr Sally Wyatt, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands