Retooling: A Historian Confronts Technological Change [Hardcover]

Rosalind Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2002

When Warren Kendall Lewis left Spring Garden Farm in Delaware in 1901 to enter MIT, he had no idea that he was becoming part of a profession that would bring untold good to his country but would also contribute to the death of his family's farm. In this book written a century later, Professor Lewis's granddaughter, a cultural historian who has served in the administration of MIT, uses her grandfather's and her own experience to make sense of the rapidly changing role of technology in contemporary life.Rosalind Williams served as Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education at MIT from 1995 through 2000. From this vantage point, she watched a wave of changes, some planned and some unexpected, transform many aspects of social and working life--from how students are taught to how research and accounting are done--at this major site of technological innovation. In Retooling, she uses this local knowledge to draw more general insights into contemporary society's obsession with technology.Today technology-driven change defines human desires, anxieties, memories, imagination, and experiences of time and space in unprecedented ways. But technology, and specifically information technology, does not simply influence culture and society; it is itself inherently cultural and social. If there is to be any reconciliation between technological change and community, Williams argues, it will come from connecting technological and social innovation--a connection demonstrated in the history that unfolds in this absorbing book.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

As the subtitle of her book suggests, Williams is a cultural historian. From 1995 through 2000, she was the dean of students and undergraduate education at MIT. As a humanist at a school known mostly for engineering, she is able to offer a fresh take on the impact of technology on society. Her narrative is laced with family and childhood stories (her grandfather came to MIT in 1901, little knowing that he would never return to the family farm), which helps readers understand how technology affects us on a personal level. David C. Mowery and Nathan Rosenberg's more scholarly Paths of Innovation also discusses the consequences of technological change, but while it provides evidence of how technological innovation in the United States led to strong economic growth, it does not delve into the social consequences. Easy to read and understand, Williams's work provides interesting insights on modern culture and our obsession with technology. Recommended for large public and academic libraries.
John B. Napp, Univ. of Toledo Lib., OH
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"... a fascinating account of the new relationships between technology and culture... a literary jewel." Manuel Castells Project Muse

"An epic account of the struggle to humanize engineering education" Kirkus Reviews

"Easy to read and understand, William's work provides interesting insights on modern culture and our obsession with technology." John B. Napp Library Journal

"Rosalind Williams... has written a very personal, autobiographical book." Paul E. Ceruzzi Isis

"We have Williams to thank for a thoughtful, cogent, and historically well-informed analysis of the engineering profession." Karl Stephan IEEE

"Provides interesting insights on modern culture and our obsession with technology." John B. Napp Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (August 21, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262232235
• ISBN-13: 978-0262232234
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,693,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Engineering Education in an Ivory Tower, September 16, 2011

By 

Judah (Terre Haute In USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retooling: A Historian Confronts Technological Change (Kindle Edition)

This is the story of how the MIT Engineering curriculum evolved and changed with the advance of technology over the period of 1995-2000. It is written by a professor who has never held a non-academic job, and much of the content involves faculty meetings. Rosalind Williams became the Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education during this timeframe, and as a 'humanist' immediately sought to inject more humanities into the engineering program. This is the "epic account of the struggle to humanize engineering education" that Kirkus Reviews gushes over, but I, as a reader, found tedious.

What I did enjoy is the discussion of how MIT struggled to update their classrooms to keep pace with technology, first by networking, then struggling with bandwidth, and finally with fiber. Williams did have a cost-benefit analysis of upgrading vs. technological pacing, and that's about as close to 'Retooling' as the book gets.

I didn't really get much of 'technology vs. culture', other than MIT making policies for the internet as it evolved. The book was a window into the thought processes of a non-technical lifetime academic with an agenda of 'humanizing' engineers. Yeah, got some 'big sis knows best'. Obliquely included were some legendary backbiting college office politics. (Williams is unfailingly polite, but if you read between the lines...)

I'd only read the library copy if you are in a management position of a large organization (especially a college). Insight of how MIT upgraded their computing during the 1995-2005 timeframe might help your own IT/computing division. The perspective on 'Retooling' an engineer's exposure to a broader perspective is verbose, pads out the book, and is largely irrelevant. This isn't a book I'll be re-reading or keeping.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars For an academic audience only, August 9, 2007

By 

Aaron Silverman "DJ Kuul A" (Boynton Beach, FL, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Retooling: A Historian Confronts Technological Change (Hardcover)

The subtitle of this book should be "A Historian Confronts Technological Change Within the Ivory Tower of MIT." The text, which is rife with abstractions and theories, and only rarely discusses specific events, has very little relevance outside of academia. Many of its anecdotes are seen from the vantage point of bureaucratic meetings of the MIT faculty and administration. I would guess that the author has spent nearly her entire adult life on a university campus. This is also reflected in the writing style, which rarely states in a sentence what can be stretched to a paragraph.

People at MIT or a similar instituation, or considering attending or working at one, or those interested in how engineering teachers view the history of engineering education theory, might find this book interesting. Others may have trouble finishing it (and it's a very short book).