LEADER 04223nam 22007095 450 001 9910978385203321 005 20250212115305.0 010 $a9789819787081 010 $a9819787084 024 7 $a10.1007/978-981-97-8708-1 035 $a(CKB)37515959500041 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC31903249 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL31903249 035 $a(OCoLC)1499719406 035 $a(DE-He213)978-981-97-8708-1 035 $a(EXLCZ)9937515959500041 100 $a20250212d2024 u| 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur||||||||||| 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 10$aTools, Totems, and Totalities $eThe Modern Construction of Hegemonic Technology /$fby Allen Batteau, Christine Z. Miller 205 $a1st ed. 2024. 210 1$aSingapore :$cSpringer Nature Singapore :$cImprint: Springer,$d2024. 215 $a1 online resource (290 pages) 311 08$a9789819787074 311 08$a9819787076 327 $aTechnology and Cultural Imagination -- The Invention of Technology -- The Prehistory of Technology -- Perspectives: Engineering -- Perspectives: Philosophy -- Perspectives: Sociology and Anthropology -- Technology and Economic Values -- Technology and Citizenship -- Technology and the Human Community -- Optimization and Brittleness -- Techno-narcissism -- Conclusion: Toward the Post-Technological Age. 330 $aThis book provides a critical perspective on technology, answering the questions of why technologies often disappoint. It takes a sociotechnical and historical perspective on technology, as developed by an engineer?anthropologist and a design anthropologist, to answer questions not only about why modern societies have great expectations of technology, but also of why these technologies often fail to meet expectations. Modern societies often search for technological solutions (?technofixes?) to what are institutional problems, which include border crossings or urban mobility, or improvements in productivity or improved communication. It is disappointing when technofixes, whether border walls or driverless cars or social media, fail to live up to their promises of greater personal autonomy (such as afforded by driverless cars) or improved social harmony through social media. Examining technology from the perspectives of instrumentality (?tools?), identity (?totems?), and world-defining systems (?totalities?) develops a comprehensive perspective that is at once historically informed and cross-culturally accurate. Although instrumentality is obvious and is at the core of any understanding of technology, identity is less so; yet many modern ?tribes? create their identity in terms of technological objects and systems, whether transport systems (cars and airplanes) or social media or weapons (guns). Further, modern technologies span the globe, so that they exert imperative coordination over distant populations; the use of cell phones around the world is testimony to this fact. Such a critical perspective on technology can be useful in policy discussions of numerous issues affecting contemporary institutions. 606 $aApplied anthropology 606 $aEthnology 606 $aScience$xHistory 606 $aTechnology 606 $aHistory 606 $aTechnology$xPhilosophy 606 $aApplied Anthropology 606 $aSociocultural Anthropology 606 $aHistory of Science 606 $aHistory of Technology 606 $aPhilosophy of Technology 615 0$aApplied anthropology. 615 0$aEthnology. 615 0$aScience$xHistory. 615 0$aTechnology. 615 0$aHistory. 615 0$aTechnology$xPhilosophy. 615 14$aApplied Anthropology. 615 24$aSociocultural Anthropology. 615 24$aHistory of Science. 615 24$aHistory of Technology. 615 24$aPhilosophy of Technology. 676 $a301 700 $aBatteau$b Allen$01458153 701 $aMiller$b Christine Z$01788053 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910978385203321 996 $aTools, Totems, and Totalities$94322374 997 $aUNINA