Hello, Central? : gender, technology, and culture in the formation of telephone systems / Michele Martin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Martin, Michèle, 1944-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Telephone--Ontario--History.

Telephone.

Telephone--Quebec (Province)--History.

Telephone operators--Ontario--History.

Telephone operators.

Telephone operators--Quebec (Province)--History.

Telephone--Social aspects--Ontario--History.

Telephone--Social aspects--Quebec (Province)--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (232 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Buffalo : McGill-Queen's University Press, c1991.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Drawing on the rich and unexplored Bell Canada archives in Montreal, Martin analyses the development of the telephone system in Canada, particularly in Ontario and Quebec, from 1878 to 1920. Bell Telephone originally envisaged the telephone as a business tool for a relatively small group of male professionals. The women who worked as operators -- an occupation which rapidly became a female ghetto -- played a key role in mediating the demands of telephone users and the limitations of the new technology. The many women who began to use the telephone for domestic, two-way communication eventually forced Bell Telephone to change its approach and ultimately transformed the telephone's social impact. Through a critical examination of the political and economic aspects of the development of telephone systems, Martin outlines changes in the nature of women's economic experience and in their participation in the community. She analyses the transformation of the telephone into a "public utility," stressing the ever-present economic incentives at the base of Bell Canada's decision making. She also examines the impact of this new technology on women and the labour process and on women's social and cultural practices. Her study not only provides an important understanding of a particular period but also insight into the effect of new communication technology on social structure.

Contents:

Intro; Contents; Illustrations; Tables and Figures; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1 ""Freedom Can't Be Overheard""; 2 Killing the Competition; 3 The Making of the Perfect Operator; 4 Voicing the ""Pulse of the City""; 5 Bridging the Gap between the Victorian and Modern Eras; 6 The Culture of the Telephone; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index; A; B; C; D; F; G; H; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; V; W

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [189]-214) and index.

ISBN:

0-7735-6286-9

OCLC:

1245679521