The railway journey : the industrialization of time and space in the nineteenth century
The impact of constant technological change upon our perception of the world is so pervasive as to have become a commonplace of modern society. But this was not always the case; as Wolfgang Schivelbusch points out in this fascinating study, our adaptation to technological change-the development of our modern, industrialized consciousness-was very much a learned behavior. In The Railway Journey, Schivelbusch examines the origins of this industrialized consciousness by exploring the reaction in the nineteenth century to the first dramatic avatar of technological change, the railroad. In a highly original and engaging fashion, Schivelbusch discusses the ways in which our perceptions of distance, time, autonomy, speed, and risk were altered by railway travel. As a history of the surprising ways in which technology and culture interact, this book covers a wide range of topics, including the changing perception of landscapes, the death of conversation while traveling, the problematic nature of the railway compartment, the space of glass architecture, the pathology of the railway journey, industrial fatigue and the history of shock, and the railroad and the city. Belonging to a distinguished European tradition of critical sociology best exemplified by the work of Georg Simmel and Walter Benjamin, The Railway Journey is anchored in rich empirical data and full of striking insights about railway travel, the industrial revolution, and technological change. Now updated with a new preface, The Railway Journey is an invaluable resource for readers interested in nineteenth-century culture and technology and the prehistory of modern media and digitalization.
Bibliographic Information
| Format: | eBook |
|---|---|
| Author: | Schivelbusch, Wolfgang, 1941-2023, |
| Subject: |
Railroads Railroad travel Space and time |
| Publication Year: | 2014 |
| Language: | English |
| Published: | Oakland, California : University of California Press, 2014. |
| ISBN: | 9780520282261 0520282264 9780520957909 0520957903 |
| Notes: | English Frontmatter -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Foreword -- Preface to the 2014 Edition. World Machines: The Steam Engine, the Railway, and the Computer -- [1]. The Mechanization of Motive Power -- [2]. The Machine Ensemble -- [3]. Railroad Space and Railroad Time -- Excursus. The Space of Glass Architecture -- [4]. Panoramic Travel -- [5]. The Compartment -- [6]. The American Railroad -- [7]. The Pathology of the Railroad Journey -- Excursus Industrial Fatigue -- [8]. The Accident -- [9]. Railroad Accident/ "Railway Spine' and Traumatic Neurosis -- Excursus. The History of Shock -- [10]. Stimulus Shield: or, the Industrialized Consciousness -- [11]. The Railroad Station: Entrance to the City -- [12]. Tracks in the City -- [13]. Circulation -- Bibliographical Note -- Index "With a new preface." Includes bibliographical references and index. Description based on print version record. |
| Course: |
HIST456 |