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Response and Reflection
Kranakis, E. (2005). Book Review, Technology and Culture, 46, pp. 805-12.
This is essentially a book review that compares the works of Misa's Leonardo to the Internet: Technology and Culture from the Renaissance
to the Present with similar works that have tried to capture the
essence of technology and its influence on society and the economy.
The author is primarily concerned with those texts that use
similar historical analytical methods for analysis and those elements of Misa's work that were novel.
His discussion about Misa's work sounds fairly apt. He describes
the text as using a method that draws its tradition from the political
economy. Misa does emphasize the political and economic forces
that played into the development and use of technology of an era.
Speaking of era, Krankis also points out that the text is similar
to other recent works because it characterizes history into a set of
phases.
One insight that he draws that I think I did not specifically address
in my response is the delicate shift of power and balance between
cultures. His final point that Misa's work provides us lenses to
re-read our understanding of history is very true. Misa
perspective did run counter to some of the things that I believed in
this past as well. |