Zur Geschichte des digitalen Zeitalters [Book Review]

Book Review of: Ricky Wichum u. Daniela Zetti (Hg.), Zur Geschichte des digitalen Zeitalters (= Geschichte des digitalen Zeitalters), Wiesbaden 2022. ISBN:
978-3-658-34505-1

The authors of the Book, Ricky Wichum and Daniela Zetti, are historians who have put together a collection of essays based on a conference held in November 2018 and the authors argue that digital technologies represent offers to society that can be used or not used to negotiate social change.
The authors reject deterministic explanations of digitalization and position themselves in the field of the cultural history of technology. The book brings together historians, cultural and media scholars to analyze the various processes of adaptation and synchronization between digital media changes and social structural changes since the second half of the 20th century. They examine the discourse on the digital age and its breaks, periodizations and projections, and try to historicize the fluid differences between experience and expectation.
In his contribution, Christian Ritter describes the “digital society” as a continually present future, drawing on Reinhart Koselleck’s approach to historical semantics. He examines the mechanisms by which ideas of a technology- and innovation-driven society are fabricated and communicatively connected to subjective action and experience spaces by institutional actors in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in the 2010s.

Other essays in the collection explore various aspects of the digital age, including the negotiation of social change through technology, the role of media in shaping society’s perceptions of the digital age, and the impact of digital technologies on work and labor.
The book also examines the historical context of the digital age and its relationship to previous technological revolutions. It looks at the ways in which digital technologies have been imagined and promoted in the past, and how these predictions have been realized or failed.

Sure, the book “Zur Geschichte des digitalen Zeitalters” offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary examination of the history of the digital age, shedding light on the complex relationship between technology, society, and culture. The authors argue that digital technologies are not just tools for communication, but also tools for shaping the future and negotiating social change.

One of the key themes of the book is that digital technologies are not neutral or passive tools, but rather active agents in shaping social change. The authors reject deterministic explanations of digitalization and instead argue that digital technologies present offers to society that can be used or not used to negotiate social change. This means that the impact of digital technologies on society is not predetermined, but rather the result of negotiations and interactions between different actors and interests.

Another important theme of the book is the way in which digital technologies have been imagined and promoted in the past. The authors examine the discourse on the digital age and its breaks, periodizations and projections, and try to historicize the fluid differences between experience and expectation. This allows them to understand how the digital age has been imagined and promoted in the past, and how these predictions have been realized or failed. This is important because it highlights the ways in which the discourse and imagination surrounding technology can shape its development and impact.

The book also examines the impact of digital technologies on work and labor. It looks at how digital technologies have changed the way we work and the nature of work itself. It also examines the ways in which digital technologies have created new opportunities and challenges for workers, such as the gig economy, automation, and the rise of the knowledge worker.

Overall, the book provides a detailed and nuanced understanding of the history of the digital age and its relationship to society and culture. It highlights the ways in which digital technologies are active agents in shaping social change and the ways in which the discourse and imagination surrounding technology can shape its development and impact. It also examines the impact of digital technologies on work and labor, providing insights into the ways in which digital technologies have transformed the economy and the nature of work.



Diesen Blogbeitrag zitieren
Massimiliano Livi (2023, 22. Januar). Zur Geschichte des digitalen Zeitalters [Book Review]. TrIBES. Abgerufen am 16. April 2024, von https://doi.org/10.58079/uxl8

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