Technology and the culture of progress in Meiji Japan /
[Book]
David G. Wittner.
New York :
Routledge,
2008.
xix, 199 pages :
illustrations, maps ;
24 cm.
Routledge/Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) East Asia series ;
10
Includes bibliographical references (pages 136-194) and index.
Introduction : Meiji modernization revisited -- Tradition and modernization -- Iron machines and brick buildings : the material culture of silk reeling -- Smelting for civilization : technological choice and the modernization of the iron industry -- Bunmei kaika to gijutsu : technology's role in 'civilization and enlightenment' -- Conclusion : from technological determinism to techno-imperialism.
0
In this book David Wittner situates Japan's Meiji Era experience of technology transfer and industrial modernization within the realm of culture, politics, and symbolism, examining how nineteenth century beliefs in civilization and enlightenment influenced the process of technological choice.