American Technological Sublime
- ISBN-10
- 0262640341
- ISBN-13
- 9780262640343
- Category
- Technology & Engineering
- Pages
- 362
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1996
- Publisher
- MIT Press
- Author
- David E. Nye
Description
Technology has long played a central role in the formation of Americans' sense ofselfhood. From the first canal systems through the moon landing, Americans have, for better orworse, derived unity from the common feeling of awe inspired by large-scale applications oftechnological prowess. American Technological Sublime continues the exploration of the socialconstruction of technology that David Nye began in his award-winning book Electrifying America. HereNye examines the continuing appeal of the "technological sublime" (a term coined by Perry Miller) asa key to the nation's history, using as examples the natural sites, architectural forms, andtechnological achievements that ordinary people have valued intensely.American Technological Sublimeis a study of the politics of perception in industrial society. Arranged chronologically, itsuggests that the sublime itself has a history - that sublime experiences are emotionalconfigurations that emerge from new social and technological conditions, and that each newconfiguration to some extent undermines and displaces the older versions. After giving a shorthistory of the sublime as an aesthetic category, Nye describes the reemergence and democratizationof the concept in the early nineteenth century as an expression of the American sense ofspecialness.What has filled the American public with wonder, awe, even terror? David Nye selects theGrand Canyon, Niagara Falls, the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, the Erie Canal, the firsttranscontinental railroad, Eads Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, the major international expositions, theHudson-Fulton Celebration of 1909, the Empire State Building, and Boulder Dam. He then looks at theatom bomb tests and the Apollo mission as examples of the increasing ambivalence of thetechnological sublime in the postwar world. The festivities surrounding the rededication of theStatue of Liberty in 1986 become a touchstone reflecting the transformation of the Americanexperience of the sublime over two centuries. Nye concludes with a vision of the modern-day"consumer sublime" as manifested in the fantasy world of Las Vegas.
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