The Technological Imperative in Canada

by Francis, R. Douglas

• ISBN13: 9780774816519
• ISBN10: 0774816511
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-02-15
• Publisher: Univ of British Columbia Pr

Summary

Technology is and has always been the subject of critical debate. This wide-ranging, engaging book examines the ideas of Anglo-Canadian theorists who saw technology as a new imperative that would either enhance or threaten the moral imperative. From the mid-nineteenth century onward, advocates argued that techno-logy, as a moral force, would strengthen the ties that bound Canada to Britain and Western civilization, while opponents saw technology as a source of American power that threatened Canadian independence. The Technological Imperative in Canada offers new insights into the ideas of influential Canadian theorists of technology such as Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan and introduces readers to the ideas and perceptions of lesser-known but key figures such as Sandford Fleming, Stephen Leacock, and E.J. Pratt. This seminal book revises the entrenched notion that Anglo-Canadian thought has been dominated by the moral imperative.

Author Biography

R. Douglas Francis is a professor of Canadian history at the University of Calgary.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Perspectives on Technology	p. 9
Approaching the Imperative
T.C. Keefer, T.C. Haliburton, Sandford Fleming, and Alexander Graham Bell: Technology as Railways, Communication Media, and Time	p. 31
Advocates of Technical Education: Technology as Knowledge	p. 64
Grappling with the Imperative
George Sidney Brett and the Debate on Technology as War: Technology Dethroned	p. 83
William Lyon Mackenzie King and Frederick Philip Grove: Technology as Industrialism	p. 102
Stephen Leacock and Archibald Lampman: Technology as Mechanization	p. 135
Philosophizing the Imperative
Harold A. Innis and Eric Havelock: Technology as Power	p. 159
Marshall McLuhan: Making Sense(s) of Technology	p. 188
Northrop Frye and E.J. Pratt: Technology as Mythology	p. 211
George Grant and Dennis Lee: Technology as Being	p. 234
Conclusion	p. 266
Notes	p. 278
Selected Bibliography	p. 307
Index	p. 321
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