Technology in World Civilization

A Thousand-Year History

Arnold Pacey, Francesca Bray

• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Year: 2021
• Edition: 2
• eBook ISBN:
  9780262366281
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Technology & Engineering Research & Skills
• Index: Technology & Engineering

This milestone history of technology, first published in 1990 and now revised and expanded in light of recent research, broke new ground by taking a global view, avoiding the conventional Eurocentric perspective and placing the development of technology squarely in the context of a "world civilization." Case studies include "technological dialogues" between China and West Asia in the eleventh century, medieval African states and the Islamic world, and the United States and Japan post-1950. It examines railway empires through the examples of Russia and Japan and explores current synergies of innovation in energy supply and smartphone technology through African cases.

The book uses the term "technological dialogue" to challenge the top-down concept of "technology transfer," showing instead that technologies are typically modified to fit local needs and conditions, often triggering further innovation. The authors trace these encounters and exchanges over a thousand years, examining changes in such technologies as agriculture, firearms, printing, electricity, and railroads. A new chapter brings the narrative into the twenty-first century, discussing technological developments including petrochemicals, aerospace, and digitalization from often unexpected global viewpoints and asking what new kind of industrial revolution is needed to meet the challenges of the Anthropocene.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Preface to the Revised Edition
• Coauthor’s Note
• Credits for Illustrations
• 1. An Age of Asian Technology, AD 700–1100
• 2. Complexes and Contrasts in Basic Technology, AD 1100–1260
• 3. Movements West, 1150–1490
• 4. Agroecology in the Americas and Asian Trade
• 5. Gunpowder Empires, 1450–1650
• 6. Printing, Books, and Ideas about Technology, 1550–1750
• 7. Three Industrial Movements, 1700–1815
• 8. Guns and Rails: Asia, Britain, and America
• 9. Railway Empires, 1850–1940
• 10. Scientific Discoveries and Technical Dreams, 1860–1960
• 11. Technologies for Health, Food, and Basic Needs
• 12. Into the Twenty-First Century
• Bibliography
• Index