1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910502680603321

Titolo

The Persistence of Technology : Histories of Repair, Reuse and Disposal / Stefan Krebs, Heike Weber

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Bielefeld, : transcript Verlag, 2021

ISBN

9783839447413

3839447410

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (292 p.) : 911 MB 20 SW-Abbildungen, 10 Farbabbildungen

Collana

Science Studies

Disciplina

600

Soggetti

History of Technology

Maintenance

Repair

Waste

Environmental History

Technology

Cultural History

Social History

History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

Cover -- Contents -- Preface -- The Persistence of Technology -- Rethinking the History of Repair -- MAINTAINING INFRASTRUCTURES -- Repairing China's Power Grid Amidst Perpetual Warfare, 1937-1955 -- Changing Perceptions of Repair and Maintenance -- Business as Usual -- USERS AND REPAIR -- Mud Bricks in a Concrete State -- Maintaining the Mobility of Motor Cars -- Of Buses, Batteries and Breakdowns -- REUSE AND CONSERVATION -- A Bargain or a "Mousetrap"? -- "Proof of Life" -- OBSOLESCENCE AND DISPOSAL -- Mending or Ending? -- The Persistence of SS France -- Authors.

Sommario/riassunto

Repair, reuse and disposal are closely interlinked phenomena related to the service lives and persistence of technologies. When technical artefacts become old and worn out, decisions have to be taken: is it



necessary, worthwhile or even possible to maintain and repair, reuse or dismantle them – or must they be discarded? These decisions depend on factors such as the availability of second-hand markets, repair infrastructures and dismantling or disposal facilities. In telling the stories of China's power grid, Canadian telephones, German automobiles and India's shipbreaking business, among others, the contributions in this volume highlight the persistence of technologies and show that maintenance and repair are not obsolete in modern industries and consumer societies.

»Without a doubt, this collection moves the study of technology forward in important and productive conceptual avenues.«

»[This volume] inspires new perspectives, provokes necessary discussions, and forms a building block for future work on time and technology.«

Besprochen in:https://hpscesee.blogspot.com, 01.11.2021 Technikgeschichte, 4 (2022), May-Brith Ohman Nielsen