Synopses & Reviews
andlt;Pandgt;In the late 1960s an eclectic group of engineers joined the antiwar and civil rights activists of the time in agitating for change. The engineers were fighting to remake their profession, challenging their fellow engineers to embrace a more humane vision of technology. In andlt;Iandgt;Engineers for Changeandlt;/Iandgt;, Matthew Wisnioski offers an account of this conflict within engineering, linking it to deep-seated assumptions about technology and American life. The postwar period in America saw a near-utopian belief in technology's beneficence. Beginning in the mid-1960s, however, society--influenced by the antitechnology writings of such thinkers as Jacques Ellul and Lewis Mumford--began to view technology in a more negative light. Engineers themselves were seen as conformist organization men propping up the military-industrial complex. A dissident minority of engineers offered critiques of their profession that appropriated concepts from technology's critics. These dissidents were criticized in turn by conservatives who regarded them as countercultural Luddites. And yet, as Wisnioski shows, the radical minority spurred the professional elite to promote a new understanding of technology as a rapidly accelerating force that our institutions are ill-equipped to handle. The negative consequences of technology spring from its very nature--and not from engineering's failures. andquot;Sociotechnologistsandquot; were recruited to help society adjust to its technology. Wisnioski argues that in responding to the challenges posed by critics within their profession, engineers in the 1960s helped shape our dominant contemporary understanding of technological change as the driver of history.andlt;/Pandgt;
Review
This important book examines the radical engineers of the 1960s and the dialogue they provoked, which changed the way the profession defined itself, with the unintended outcome that many American engineers embraced an ideology that normalized technological acceleration while diminishing responsibility for the cultural effects of their work. But as Matthew Wisnioski also shows, a critical minority now challenges the profession to embrace new values such as sustainability, social justice, and responsibility for change. The MIT Press
Review
For nearly a century, engineers have struggled with competing visions of their profession: were they masters or servants of technology? Debate boiled over during the turbulent 1960s, as critics bewailed destructive technologies that seemed out of control. Charting engineers' efforts from lathes and laboratories to artists' studios and the classroom, Matthew Wisnioski's Engineers for Change offers a richly textured, thought-provoking tour as engineers strove to remold their craft and their identity. David E. Nye, author of < i=""> Technology Matters: Questions to Live With <>
Review
The social and intellectual unrest of the 1960s forced engineers, long the masters of how, to confront why. The struggle to establish a socio-technical framework for engineering, university curricula to imbue it, and a popular understanding of it remain largely unmet today. Thus Matthew Wisnioski's very interesting and highly readable book is an important contemporary guide as well as excellent history. David Kaiser, Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science, MIT; author of < i=""> How the Hippies Saved Physics <>
Review
andlt;Pandgt;"This important book examines the radical engineers of the 1960s and the dialogue they provoked, which changed the way the profession defined itself, with the unintended outcome that many American engineers embraced an ideology that normalized technological acceleration while diminishing responsibility for the cultural effects of their work. But as Matthew Wisnioski also shows, a critical minority now challenges the profession to embrace new values such as sustainability, social justice, and responsibility for change." -- andlt;Bandgt;David E. Nyeandlt;/Bandgt;, author of andlt;Iandgt;Technology Matters: Questions to Live Withandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;/Pandgt; The MIT Press The MIT Press
Review
andlt;Pandgt;"For nearly a century, engineers have struggled with competing visions of their profession: were they masters or servants of technology? Debate boiled over during the turbulent 1960s, as critics bewailed destructive technologies that seemed out of control. Charting engineers' efforts from lathes and laboratories to artists' studios and the classroom, Matthew Wisnioski's andlt;Iandgt;Engineers for Changeandlt;/Iandgt; offers a richly textured, thought-provoking tour as engineers strove to remold their craft and their identity." -- andlt;Bandgt;David Kaiserandlt;/Bandgt;, Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science, MIT; author of andlt;Iandgt;How the Hippies Saved Physicsandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;/Pandgt; The MIT Press
Review
andlt;Pandgt;andquot;The social and intellectual unrest of the 1960s forced engineers, long the masters of andlt;Iandgt;howandlt;/Iandgt;, to confront andlt;Iandgt;whyandlt;/Iandgt;. The struggle to establish a socio-technical framework for engineering, university curricula to imbue it, and a popular understanding of it remain largely unmet today. Thus Matthew Wisnioski's very interesting and highly readable book is an important contemporary guide as well as excellent history.andquot; -- andlt;Bandgt;Charles Vestandlt;/Bandgt;, President, National Academy of Engineering; President Emeritus, MITandlt;/Pandgt;
Review
This volume is solidly researched and draws upon an impressive array contemporary articles, archives, and oral histories. The range of people and places discussed is impressive. Wisnioski makes his case concerning arguments for change being widespread among engineers, and his study is a very useful history of currents within engineering during the era. Charles Vest, President, National Academy of Engineering; President Emeritus, MIT
Synopsis
An account of conflicts within engineering in the 1960s that helped shape our dominant contemporary understanding of technological change as the driver of history.
In the late 1960s an eclectic group of engineers joined the antiwar and civil rights activists of the time in agitating for change. The engineers were fighting to remake their profession, challenging their fellow engineers to embrace a more humane vision of technology. In Engineers for Change, Matthew Wisnioski offers an account of this conflict within engineering, linking it to deep-seated assumptions about technology and American life.
The postwar period in America saw a near-utopian belief in technology's beneficence. Beginning in the mid-1960s, however, society--influenced by the antitechnology writings of such thinkers as Jacques Ellul and Lewis Mumford--began to view technology in a more negative light. Engineers themselves were seen as conformist organization men propping up the military-industrial complex. A dissident minority of engineers offered critiques of their profession that appropriated concepts from technology's critics. These dissidents were criticized in turn by conservatives who regarded them as countercultural Luddites. And yet, as Wisnioski shows, the radical minority spurred the professional elite to promote a new understanding of technology as a rapidly accelerating force that our institutions are ill-equipped to handle. The negative consequences of technology spring from its very nature--and not from engineering's failures. "Sociotechnologists" were recruited to help society adjust to its technology. Wisnioski argues that in responding to the challenges posed by critics within their profession, engineers in the 1960s helped shape our dominant contemporary understanding of technological change as the driver of history.
Synopsis
In the late 1960s an eclectic group of engineers joined the antiwar and civil rights activists of the time in agitating for change. The engineers were fighting to remake their profession, challenging their fellow engineers to embrace a more humane vision of technology. In Engineers for Change, Matthew Wisnioski offers an account of this conflict within engineering, linking it to deep-seated assumptions about technology and American life. The postwar period in America saw a near-utopian belief in technology's beneficence. Beginning in the mid-1960s, however, society--influenced by the antitechnology writings of such thinkers as Jacques Ellul and Lewis Mumford--began to view technology in a more negative light. Engineers themselves were seen as conformist organization men propping up the military-industrial complex. A dissident minority of engineers offered critiques of their profession that appropriated concepts from technology's critics. These dissidents were criticized in turn by conservatives who regarded them as countercultural Luddites. And yet, as Wisnioski shows, the radical minority spurred the professional elite to promote a new understanding of technology as a rapidly accelerating force that our institutions are ill-equipped to handle. The negative consequences of technology spring from its very nature--and not from engineering's failures. "Sociotechnologists" were recruited to help society adjust to its technology. Wisnioski argues that in responding to the challenges posed by critics within their profession, engineers in the 1960s helped shape our dominant contemporary understanding of technological change as the driver of history.
About the Author
Matthew Wisnioski is Assistant Professor of Science and Technology in Society at Virginia Tech.