Content:
Histories of innovation are prototypical success
stories. The advent of the wheel, of writing, printing,
the steam engine or computers: where would we be
without these path-breaking technological innovations
and their global consequences? At least retrospectively,
innovations appear as linear, straightforward processes.
However, this view is too simplistic. Innovations are not
self-evident new elements of life but meet social and
technological resistance. In accounts of past innovations,
we also often forget that their price is always an
irremediable loss of knowledge and practical skills.
This collection of essays shows that innovations, both
ancient and more recent ones, are located in a network
of pre-existing life-worlds. The authors elucidate the
wide and often unrecognized impacts of innovations
on social structures and cultural practices. Case studies
from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, central Europe
and the modern world highlight the preconditions
and off-ignored secondary effects of innovation.
They address the complex social negotiations and
the multitude of unforeseen and unplanned changes
which accompany the New, rather than focusing on
intended changes, which are usually understood as
improvements and ways to broaden possibilities for
action. Our ultimate goal is to investigate the complex
entangle ments of innovations in past and present
worlds and deepen our understanding of mechanisms
of cultural change.
Note:
Erscheint in der Reihe "Berlin Studies of the Ancient World" herausgegeben von Exzellenzcluster 264 Topoi ; 43
Language:
English
URN:
urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-100248699
URL:
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