The Persistence of Technology

The Persistence of Technology

Histories of Repair, Reuse and Disposal

In: Science Studies

Edited by: Stefan Krebs and Heike Weber

transcript-Verlag | 2022

Overview

About this book

Repair, reuse and disposal are closely interlinked phenomena related to the lives and persistence of technologies. When technical artefacts become old and outworn, decisions have to be taken: is it necessary, worthwhile or even possible to maintain and repair or to reuse or dismantle them - or must one dispose of them? These decisions depend on factors such as the availability of second-hand markets, repair infrastructures and dismantling or disposal facilities. Telling the stories of, among others, China's power grid, Colombian roads, American telephones, German automobiles and India's ship breaking business, the contributions in this volume stress the long lives of technologies and show that maintenance and repair are not obsolete in modern industries and consumer societies.

Author information

Stefan Krebs (Dr. phil.) is Assistant Professor for Contemporary History at the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History.
Heike Weber (Dr. phil.) is Professor for Cultural Studies of Technology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

The Persistence of Technology

Histories of Repair, Reuse and Disposal

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