Science And Technology In Modern European Life

The last two centuries have seen unprecedented change in the everyday lives of Europeans. From the Napoleonic Wars to the end of the Cold War, from the Industrial Revolution to the Computer Revolution, many of these changes were greatly influenced by the scientific and technological advances that took place during that period. This volume in the Daily Life Through History series examines how science and technology impacted the everyday life of modern Europeans in all aspects from of their lives. Science and Technology in Modern European Life shows how science and technology influenced every aspect of daily life: • Transportation: From horse and carriage to the iron horse (the locomotive) and the horseless carriage • Communication: The expansion of mass culture from the advent of the newspaper and the picture postcard to the development of the internet • War and Imperialism: How European technology enabled the colonization of much of the rest of the world, and how the changes in war technology forever altered how war is carried out • The Home: The great changes of household technology, and how these changes altered the relationship between men and women

Despite the popular view of medieval Europe as a Dark Age of intellectual stagnation, scientific and technological achievement thrived during this time. As any vacationer to Europe knows, churches and castles remain lasting testaments to the ingenuity of that period in history. Through carefully chosen examples which are presented in easily accessible thematic chapters, Science and Technology in Medieval European Life demonstrates how these two aspects of human achievement, far from being ivory-tower enterprises, impacted the daily life of people in medieval Europe. These topics will also resonate with modern readers in their own daily lives. This reference work begins with an historical introduction that situates medieval science and technology into its social, intellectual and religious context. Among the varied topics found in the chapters are: armor making, waterwheels and waterpower, chimneys, stained glass, communication technology, ship building, medicine both academic and village, mechanical clocks, calendar creation, and astrology. For those interested in pursuing further research into this area of history, the book concludes with a chronology of events, a suggested list of further reading and a glossary.

Facts and figures have been thoroughly updated and the work includes a comprehensive Guide to Resources, incorporating the major published literature along with a vetted list of websites and Internet resources for students and lay readers.

The history of artificial cold has been a rather intriguing interdisciplinary subject (physics, chemistry, technology, sociology, economics, anthropology, consumer studies) which despite some excellent monographs and research papers, has not been systematically exploited. It is a subject with all kinds of scientific, technological as well as cultural dimensions. For example, the common home refrigerator has brought about unimaginably deep changes to our everyday lives changing drastically eating habits and shopping mentalities. From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 21st, issues related to the production and exploitation of artificial cold have never stopped to provide us with an incredibly interesting set of phenomena, novel theoretical explanations, amazing possibilities concerning technological applications and all encompassing cultural repercussions. The discovery of the unexpected and “bizarre” phenomena of superconductivity and superfluidity, the necessity to incorporate macroscopic quantum phenomena to the framework of quantum mechanics, the discovery of Bose-Einstein condensation and high temperature superconductivity, the use of superconducting magnets for high energy particle accelerators, the construction of new computer hardware, the extensive applications of cryomedicine, and the multi billion industry of frozen foods, are some of the more dramatic instances in the history of artificial cold. ​

European nobility faced a number of religious, political and military challenges. Many sought to increase their status, or maintain their privileges, by negotiating with various political and religious authorities, and exploiting opportunities in this era of upheaval. In examining the protective strategies nobles adopted in an age of state-building, reformation and expansion, this collection reveals the roles of the 'second order' and their ability to survive. Scholars across disciplinary and national boundaries offer exciting new perspectives on this central social group.

Biology and politics have converged today across much of the industrialized world. Debates about genetically modified organisms, cloning, stem cells, animal patenting, and new reproductive technologies crowd media headlines and policy agendas. Less noticed, but no less important, are the rifts that have appeared among leading Western nations about the right way to govern innovation in genetics and biotechnology. These significant differences in law and policy, and in ethical analysis, may in a globalizing world act as obstacles to free trade, scientific inquiry, and shared understandings of human dignity. In this magisterial look at some twenty-five years of scientific and social development, Sheila Jasanoff compares the politics and policy of the life sciences in Britain, Germany, the United States, and in the European Union as a whole. She shows how public and private actors in each setting evaluated new manifestations of biotechnology and tried to reassure themselves about their safety. Three main themes emerge. First, core concepts of democratic theory, such as citizenship, deliberation, and accountability, cannot be understood satisfactorily without taking on board the politics of science and technology. Second, in all three countries, policies for the life sciences have been incorporated into "nation-building" projects that seek to reimagine what the nation stands for. Third, political culture influences democratic politics, and it works through the institutionalized ways in which citizens understand and evaluate public knowledge. These three aspects of contemporary politics, Jasanoff argues, help account not only for policy divergences but also for the perceived legitimacy of state actions.

The 19th century produced scientific and cultural revolutions that forever transformed modern European life. Richard Olson provides an integrated account of the history of science and its impact on intellectual and social trends of the day.

A collection of essays investigating the early modern debates on the nature of sight and its epistemic value.