The real world of technology

Impressive set of lectures on the societal implications of technology - broadly, from ancient metalworking to sewing machines to electrification to military industrial arms - from a feminist pacifist horizontalist perspective. Franklin highlights ways in which technical choices obscure moving from holistically artisan to hierarchical control, from biological growth and uncertainty to manufacturing's obliviousness to context, and the false claims of liberation or ease from the introduction of new tech which turns to exploitation and makes us dependent on industrial supply and control.

This is sheer delight and smarts. I wanted a feminist working out of how gender and society interact with technologies, and this is it. I'm so taken I'm actually thinking I might listen to the CBC's recordings of the original lectures as I try to work out how this might help me thinking about feminist bibliography.