The War of Desire and Technology at the Close of the Mechanical Age [Paperback]

Allucquère Rosanne Stone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1996

In this witty, far-reaching, and utterly original work, Allucquère Rosanne Stone examines the myriad ways modern technology is challenging traditional notions of gender identity.Face-to-face meetings, and even telephone conversations, involuntarily reveal crucial aspects of identity such as gender, age, and race. However, these bits of identity are completely masked by computer-mediated communications; all that is revealed is what we choose to reveal -- and then only if we choose to tell the truth. The rise of computer-mediated communications is giving people the means to try on alternative personae -- in a sense, to reinvent themselves -- which, as Stone compellingly argues, has both positive and potentially destructive implications.Not a traditional text but rather a series of intellectual provocations, the book moves between fascinating accounts of the modern interface of technology and desire: from busy cyberlabs to the electronic solitude of the Internet, from phone sex to "virtual cross-dressers," and from the trial of a man accused of having raped a woman by seducing one of her multiple personalities to the Vampire Lestat.Throughout, Stone wrestles with the question of how best to convey a complex description of a culture whose chief activity is complex description. Writing eloquently of creating a "text that breaks rules," serving as a "sampler of possible choices," she employs elements from a wide range of disciplines and genres, including cultural and critical theory, social sciences, pulp journalism, science fiction, and personal memoirs.Each chapter of the book can be read as a kind of performance piece, with its own individual voice and structure. In the final chapter, Stone threads the various narratives together, holding them in productive tension rather than attempting to collapse them into a single unifying statement: a process that best reflects the confused, ambiguous, and sometimes contradictory state of gender relations at the close of the mechanical age.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An engrossing and complex exploration of the effects of telecommunications technologies on gender relations and identity. Goes far beyond the usual obvious assertions and cliches. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"From its title to its subject the impact of cybertechnologies onthe construction of identity Stone"s book is undeniably sexy....simultaneously provocative and infuriating...never vanilla." The Women"s Review of Books

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; First edition. edition (August 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262691892
• ISBN-13: 978-0262691895
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #273,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love, violence, sex, humor and philosophy in one small book., March 7, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The War of Desire and Technology at the Close of the Mechanical Age (Paperback)

For technology lovers and technophobes, and even for those who don't think about the man/machine relationship at all, Stone's book offers intimate accounts of how humanity is dealing with the computer age. Some are anecdotes, some are discussions of theory, and there is a corporate history of Atari that had me on the edge of my seat (really). War of Desire and Technology is a quick and fun read that gives you much to think about

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a book about breaking rules and trespassing borders, May 12, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The War of Desire and Technology at the Close of the Mechanical Age (Hardcover)

Allucquere Rosanne Stone is one of the most fascinating writers in this moment. Her book, "The War of Desire and Technology" explores a changing world, in transicion between science and mythology. As Orwell and Huxley warned about, our world is fastening its pace around the axe time and place. Machines and tools are executing the utopias, making dreams and nightmares come true. Stone's book is a challenging book, with questions and a few answers, a book for seekers and poets. The encounter between feelings and facts is described by Stone as a meeting between two worlds in permanent fight, two pictures painted by blind painters, who has never seen any colours. The War of Desire and Technology is a book about nomads and cyborgs, lonely hackers and autists, leftovers from the time before the beginning, when the earth was new and the ages were newborn.