Technology history

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Famous example of the history of technology: the wheel ( invented approx. 4th millennium before our era )

The history of technology is a scientific discipline and branch of historical science and comprises the ways and conditions under which technical change has taken place. The science of the history of technology examines, documents and analyzes this. Technology means the "totality of all artefacts as well as all processes and actions with which humans think ahead to design, manufacture and use these artefacts to achieve a purpose" ( Akoš Paulinyi ). The history of technology deals with the historical development of methods for the practical application of different natural sciences and technologies . The subject of the investigations are individual development strands of technology such as the steam engine , its influence on industrialization and the description of the biography of the personalities who can be named with it - in this specific case its co-inventor and successful marketer James Watt .

Furthermore, as a technology assessment , it examines the interaction between technical progress and the history of social processes . History of technology (often referred to as the "history of science and technology") is a chair at many major universities. The history of technology learns its relevance from the technical character of our culture. Its aim is to analyze the cultural and social prerequisites, conditions and consequences of technology. The history of technology deals with material culture and therefore, more than other historical disciplines, also focuses on objects. It examines the origin, development and implementation of artifacts and complex systems of matter. It researches technical actions of actors and the forms of knowledge required for this, as well as the use and appropriation of artifacts by users in all areas of life. Knowledge of the history of technology thus represents a central contribution to orientation in our technology-dominated present.

history

The history of technology as an institutionalized science emerged at the beginning of the 20th century in an engineering context. In an effort to gain social recognition of their work as a “cultural achievement”, the engineers discovered the history of technology as an instrument for this. These efforts were particularly supported by Conrad Matschoss from the Association of German Engineers (VDI). Further impulses for the writing of the history of technology came from sociology and the historical school of economics , especially from Werner Sombart and Joseph Schumpeter , who dealt with technology as part of " economic systems " and with innovation processes.

In the beginning, the history of technology was an “internalistic” description of technical developments, which was written by technicians for technicians. It developed into a historical discipline after considerable conflict in the 1970s .

The “Modern History of Technology” by Karin Hausen and Reinhard Rürup , published in 1975, became paradigmatic here, approximating the history of technology to the history of society and the social sciences and fundamentally questioning the idea of technical progress as the leitmotif of research .

Scientific societies

German speaking

In the German-speaking area, the following scientific societies should be mentioned in particular :

In addition, there are various associations specializing in technical history, which are largely determined by interested laypeople.

International

Internationally, the following professional societies should be mentioned:

See also

literature

One of the world's largest collections of historical texts on the history of technology contains the Burndy Library , which has been located at the Huntington Library in San Marino (California) since 2006 with a total of around 67,000 works .

Important periodicals

  • Technology and Culture of the Society for the History of Technology (abstracts + tables of contents free, article on JSTOR)
  • ICON of ICOHTEC
  • History of technology (magazine) of the GTG (register + abstracts free from 1998) - website
  • Technical history sheets
  • Dresden contributions to the history of technical sciences (tables of contents) - online archive

Books (in chronological order)

  • Franz Reuleaux (ed.): Introduction to the history of inventions. Course of education and means of education of humanity. 8th revised and significantly expanded edition. Spamer, Leipzig a. a. 1884 ( The Book of Inventions, Trades and Industries 1).
  • Theodor Beck: Contributions to the history of mechanical engineering . Berlin: Springer, 1899.
  • Franz M. Feldhaus : The technology. A lexicon of prehistoric times, historical times and primitive peoples. Berlin 1914; 2nd edition Munich 1965; Reprint Munich 1970.
  • Conrad Matschoss : A century of German mechanical engineering from the mechanical workshop to the German machine factory 1819–1919 . Springer, Berlin 1919.
  • Conrad Matschoss: men of technology. A biographical manual . 1925; Reprint: VDI-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1985
  • Franz Maria Feldhaus : cultural history of technology: sketches. I-II, Berlin 1928; Reprint (in one volume) Hildesheim 1976.
  • Franz M. Feldhaus: The technology of antiquity and the Middle Ages. Potsdam 1931.
  • Johannes Albert, Erwin Herlitzius , Frank Richter: Conditions of origin and development of the technical sciences VEB German publishing house for basic industry, Leipzig, 1982, 194 pages (Freiberg research books D 145).
  • Ulrich Troitzsch , Wolfhard Weber (ed.): The technology. From the beginning to the present. Georg Westermann Verlag, Braunschweig 1982, ISBN 3-14-509012-7 .
  • Henning Eichberg : The historical relativity of things. On the way to a critical history of technology. Lit, Münster 1984.
  • Wolfgang König , Wolfhard Weber : Networks, steel and electricity. 1840 to 1914. Propylaen Ullstein, Berlin a. a. 1990, ISBN 3-549-05229-4 ( Propylaea History of Technology 4).
  • Ian McNeil (Ed.): An Encyclopaedia of the History of Technology. Routledge, London a. a. 1990, ISBN 0-7099-3579-X ( Routledge Reference ).
  • Joachim Radkau : Technology in Germany from the 18th Century to the Present. 2nd Edition. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1990, ISBN 3-518-11536-7 ( Edition Suhrkamp. New historical library 1536 = Edition Suhrkamp. NF 536).
  • Dieter Hägermann , Helmuth Schneider : Agriculture and craft. 750 BC Until 1000 AD Propylaea Ullstein, Berlin a. a. 1991, ISBN 3-549-05226-X ( Propylaea History of Technology 1).
  • Akoš Paulinyi , Ulrich Troitzsch : Mechanization and machinization. 1600 to 1840. Propylaea Ullstein, Berlin a. a. 1991, ISBN 3-549-05228-6 ( Propylaea History of Technology 3).
  • Hans-Joachim Braun , Walter Kaiser: Energy industry, automation, information. Since 1914. Propylaen Ullstein, Berlin a. a. 1992, ISBN 3-549-05230-8 ( Propylaea History of Technology 5).
  • Karl-Heinz Ludwig, Volker Schmidtchen: Metals and Power. 1000 to 1600. Propylaea Ullstein, Berlin a. a. 1992, ISBN 3-549-05227-8 ( Propylaea History of Technology 2).
  • Helmuth Schneider: Introduction to the ancient history of technology. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1992, ISBN 3-534-08335-0 ( The Ancient Studies ).
  • Burkhard Dietz (Ed.): Technical Intelligence and "Culture Factor Technology". Cultural ideas of technicians and engineers between the German Empire and the former Federal Republic of Germany . Waxmann, Münster a. a. 1996, ISBN 3-89325-447-1 ( Cottbus studies on the history of technology, work and the environment , 2), review .
  • Maurice Dumas (Ed.): Histoire générale des techniques (5 volumes, 3744 pages). Presses Universitaires de France 1996, ISBN 978-2-13-047860-7
  • Donald Cardwell: Vieweg's History of Technology. Vieweg, Wiesbaden a. a. 1997, ISBN 3-528-06647-4 .
  • Wolfhard Weber, Lutz Engelskirchen: Dispute over the history of technology in Germany 1945-1975. Waxmann, Münster a. a. 2000, ISBN 3-89325-992-9 ( Cottbus studies on the history of technology, work and the environment 15).
  • James E. McClellan III, Harold Dorn: Science and Technology in World History. An Introduction. 2nd Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2006, ISBN 0-8018-8360-1 .
  • Christian Kleinschmidt (Ed.): Curiosities of economic, corporate and technical history. Miniatures of a "happy science". Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2008, ISBN 978-3-89861-969-1
  • Rolf-Jürgen Gleitsmann-Topp , Rolf-Ulrich Kunze , Günther Oetzel: History of technology. An introduction. UVK Verlags-Gesellschaft, Konstanz 2009, ISBN 978-3-8252-3126-2 ( UTB 3126 history ).
  • Wolfgang König: History of technology. An introduction to their concepts and research results. Steiner, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-515-09423-8 ( Fundamentals of modern economic history 799).
  • Wolfgang König (ed.): History of technology. Steiner, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-515-09356-9 ( basic texts - history , 5)
  • Martina Heßler: The cultural history of technology . Campus, Frankfurt a. M. 2012, ISBN 3-593-39740-4 . ( Historical introductions )

Web links

Wikisource: Mechanics  - Sources and full texts
Commons : History of technology  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfhard Weber , Lutz Engelskirchen : Dispute about the history of technology in Germany: 1945 - 1975 , Waxmann Verlag, 2000
  2. ↑ The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens (PDF; 113 kB) Dibner Hall of the History of Science: Bern Dibner, 1897–1988 (English)