The French Revolution and Industrial Revolution together inaugurated the modern era. But recent historical "revisionists" have divorced eighteenth-century material conditions from concurrent political struggles. This book's anti-teleological approach repudiates technological determinism to document the forging of a new relationship between technology and politics in Revolutionary France. It does so through the history of a particular artifact--the gun. Expanding the "political" to include conflict over material objects, Ken ...
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The French Revolution and Industrial Revolution together inaugurated the modern era. But recent historical "revisionists" have divorced eighteenth-century material conditions from concurrent political struggles. This book's anti-teleological approach repudiates technological determinism to document the forging of a new relationship between technology and politics in Revolutionary France. It does so through the history of a particular artifact--the gun. Expanding the "political" to include conflict over material objects, Ken Alder rethinks the nature of engineering rationality, the origins of mass production, and our interpretation of the French Revolution. Near the end of the Enlightenment, a cadre of artillery engineers transformed the design, production, and deployment of military guns. Part 1 shows how the gun, the first artifact amenable to scientific analysis, was redesigned by engineers committed to new meritocratic forms of technological knowledge and how the Revolutionaries and artillery officer Napoleon exploited their techno-social designs. Part 2 shows how the gun became the first artifact to be mass producedwith interchangeable parts, as French engineers deployed "objective" drawings and automatic machinery to enforce production standards in the face of artisanal resistance. And Part 3 places the gun at the center of a technocratic revolution led by engineers on the Committee of Public Safety, a revolution whose failure inaugurated modern capitalist techno-politics. This book offers a challenging demonstration of how material artifacts emerge as the negotiated outcome of political struggle.
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Add this copy of Engineering the Revolution: Arms and Enlightenment in to cart. $29.00, very good condition, Sold by Moe's Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Berkeley, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Princeton.
Add this copy of Engineering the Revolution to cart. $30.00, very good condition, Sold by Lavendier Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Foster, RI, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Princeton University Press.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Size: 104x20x152; Princeton University Press; Princeton, 1997. Hardcover. A Very Good, blue cloth binding with gilt lettering on spine, binding sturdy and intact, trace handling marks, previous owner embossed stamp bottom half title page, in a Near Fine, trace handling/scuff marks to panels, mild edge/corner wear, Mylar protected, Dust wrapper. A nice and clean copy. 8vo[octavo or approx. 6 x 9], 476pp., abbreviations, notes, bibliography, indexed, b&w illustrations. We pack securely and ship daily w/delivery confirmation on every book. The picture on the listing page is of the actual book for sale. Additional Scan(s) are available for any item, please inquire.
Add this copy of Engineering the Revolution to cart. $40.00, very good condition, Sold by Hennessey + Ingalls rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Los Angeles, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Princeton University Press.
Add this copy of Engineering the Revolution to cart. $44.83, like new condition, Sold by First Coast Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Eatonton, GA, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Princeton University Press.
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Like New. Size: 6x1x9; 1st edition, 1st printing. Minimal wear to covers. Text clean and unmarked. The binding is tight and square. Light wear to the dust jacket. Your satisfaction is guaranteed!
Add this copy of Engineering the Revolution to cart. $63.41, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Princeton Univ Pr.
Add this copy of Engineering the Revolution to cart. $126.99, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1997 by Princeton University Press.
