1st Edition
Technology and the Culture of Progress in Meiji Japan
By David G. Wittner
Copyright 2008
224 Pages
by
Routledge
222 Pages
18 B/W Illustrations
by
Routledge
224 Pages
18 B/W Illustrations
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
In this book David Wittner situates Japan’s Meiji Era experience of technology transfer and industrial modernization within the realm of culture, politics, and symbolism, examining how nineteenth century beliefs in civilization and enlightenment influenced the process of technological choice.
Through case studies of the iron and silk industries, Wittner argues that the Meiji government’s... Read more
1. Introduction 2. Tradition and Modernization 3. Iron Machines and Brick Buildings: The Material Culture of Silk Reeling 4. Smelting for Civilization: Technical Choice and the Modernization of the Iron Industry 5. Bunmei Kaika to Gijutsu: Technology’s Role in "Civilization and Enlightenment" 6. Conclusion: From Technological Determinism to Techno-Imperialism
Biography
David Wittner is Associate Professor of Asian History at Utica College in Utica, New York, USA
'Wittner's overall framework remains valid and offers a fresh way of looking at Japanese industrial and technological development - in cultural-political terms - during the critical opening decades of the modern era.' - Steven Ericson, Monumenta Nipponica 63:2
