The Machine Anxieties of Steampunk
Contemporary Philosophy, Victorian Aesthetics, and the Future
1st Edition
Published on 4. November 2021
208 pages
978-1-5013-4933-1 (ISBN)
Description
What is steampunk and why are people across the globe eagerly embracing its neo-Victorian aesthetic? Old-fashioned eye goggles, lace corsets, leather vests, brass gears and gadgets, mechanical clocks, the look appears across popular culture, in movies, art, fashion, and literature. But steampunk is both an aesthetic program and a way-of-life and its underlying philosophy is the key to its broad appeal.
Steampunk champions a new autonomy for the individual caught up in today's technology-driven society. It expresses optimism for the future but it also delivers a note of caution about our human role in a world of ever more ubiquitous and powerful machines. Thus, despite adopting an aesthetic and lifestyle straight out of the Victorian scientific romance, steampunk addresses significant 21st-century concerns about what lies ahead for humankind. The movement recovers autonomy from prevailing trends even as it challenges us to ask what it is to be human today.
Steampunk champions a new autonomy for the individual caught up in today's technology-driven society. It expresses optimism for the future but it also delivers a note of caution about our human role in a world of ever more ubiquitous and powerful machines. Thus, despite adopting an aesthetic and lifestyle straight out of the Victorian scientific romance, steampunk addresses significant 21st-century concerns about what lies ahead for humankind. The movement recovers autonomy from prevailing trends even as it challenges us to ask what it is to be human today.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
18 colour and 17 bw illus
ISBN-13
978-1-5013-4933-1 (9781501349331)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Kathe Hicks Albrecht
The Machine Anxieties of Steampunk
Contemporary Philosophy, Victorian Aesthetics, and the Future
Book
09/2024
Bloomsbury Visual Arts
€36.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Kathe Hicks Albrecht serves on the National Council of the National Endowment for the Humanities, a presidential appointment, and is a faculty member at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (IDSVA). Albrecht has represented educators on many national and international boards including the Visual Resources Association, Digital Future Coalition, National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH), and the US Commerce Department's Conference on Fair Use (CONFU). Albrecht holds a doctorate in Philosophy and Art Theory (IDSVA), a Masters, Art History (American University), and Bachelors, Art History (UCLA).
Content
List of Plates
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Origins of Steampunk: Science Fiction and Victoriana
2. The Victorian/Steampunk Connection: Upheaval, Discovery and the Birth of Modernism
3. The Steampunk Aesthetic in Contemporary Visual Art
4. Performing Steampunk
5. Steampunk's Challenge to Contemporary Philosophy
6. Beyond Steampunk
Notes
Bibliography
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Origins of Steampunk: Science Fiction and Victoriana
2. The Victorian/Steampunk Connection: Upheaval, Discovery and the Birth of Modernism
3. The Steampunk Aesthetic in Contemporary Visual Art
4. Performing Steampunk
5. Steampunk's Challenge to Contemporary Philosophy
6. Beyond Steampunk
Notes
Bibliography
