The Human and the Machine in Literature and Culture: Cultures of Automation (1) (Perspectives on the Non-Human in Literature and Culture)

By:

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis
Automation is everywhere: in the supermarket, in home appliances, and on our commutes. While we worry about what automation means for human autonomy now, human societies have long wondered about their replacement by machines. The Human and the Machine in Literature and Culture explores the pervasive – and long-standing – influence of automation on humanity by dismantling the prevalent future-oriented perspective of many automation debates. This collection examines how literature has conceptualized automation over centuries, from utopian visions of a world liberated from work and domestic labour to dystopian futures in which humans are surplus to requirements. We set out social and industrial developments which feed into discourses of automation and its mediation in literary cultures. By bringing together theoretical approaches to real-world automation with readings of its literary interpretations, this volume demonstrates literature’s role as a space for hypothesizing alternate realities, making clear literature’s propensity to inform our attitudes to real-world phenomena.
Copyright:
2026

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
216 Pages
ISBN-13:
9781040432495
Related ISBNs:
9781040432457, 9781032895871, 9781003545910
Publisher:
Taylor & Francis
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
selection and editorial matter, Kate Foster and Molly Crozier
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Nonfiction, Literature and Fiction, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Technology, Social Studies, Language Arts
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.
Edited by:
Kate Foster
Edited by:
Molly Crozier

Reviews

No Rating Yet