American Robot - A Cultural History

"As Dustin Abnet shows, the robot-whether automaton, Mechanical Turk, cyborg, or iPhone, whether humanized machine or mechanized human being-has long been a fraught embodiment of human fears. Abnet investigates, moreover, how the discourse of the robot has reinforced social and economic inequalities as well as fantasies of social control. "Robots" as a trope are not necessarily mechanical but are rather embodiments of quasi humanity, exhibiting a mix of human and nonhuman characteristics. Such figures are troubling to dominant discourses, which cannot easily assimilate them or identify salient boundaries. The robot lurks beneath the fears that fracture society"--

Product details

• Authors: Dustin A Abnet, Dustin A. Abnet, Dustin A Abnet
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.03.2020
• EAN: 9780226692715
• ISBN: 978-0-226-69271-5
• No. of pages: 360
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Technology > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > General, dictionaries; Cultural Studies, HISTORY / United States / General, LITERARY CRITICISM / American / General, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / History, History of engineering and technology, History of engineering & technology, History of the Americas