Techno-cultural rivalry : transatlantic competition between the United States and Germany, 1890-1930 / Frank Trommler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Trommler, Frank, 1939- Author.

Standardized Title:

Transatlantische Rivalitäten. English http://id.loc.gov/resources/hubs/7e1d72f5-26a7-db3f-83c4-cb518cd7b7c5

Language:

English

German

Subjects (All):

Technological innovations--United States--History--19th century.

Technological innovations.

Technological innovations--United States--History--20th century.

Technological innovations--Germany--History--19th century.

Technological innovations--Germany--History--20th century.

United States--Relations--Germany.

United States.

Germany--Relations--United States.

Germany.

Germany--Foreign relations--United States.

United States--Foreign relations--Germany.

Physical Description:

viii, 216 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Berghahn Books, 2026.

Summary:

"At the turn of the twentieth century, the United States and Germany were seen as rivals in a "race for modernity," each pursuing distinct visions of the future. America's image as a technological pioneer reshaped European self-perception, while Germany asserted its own path through science, engineering, and a far-reaching reform of design, architecture, and applied arts. This book explores the cultural encounters and confrontations between 1880 and the 1930s, moving beyond familiar narratives of Fordism and Taylorism to reveal technology as a dynamic cultural force. By tracing the adoption of German science in the United States, the American endeavors of conceptualizing technology in the search for a genuine American culture, and the German fascination and critique of "Americanism" in the Weimar Republic, it offers new perspectives on transatlantic modernity"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction

From stingy peasants and romantic dreamers to the German industrial state

America and German science

Culture as a catch-up process : technology and efficiency as guarantors of the nation

Technology and culture : transatlantic distances and challenges

French enthusiasm for technology and deliberations on American culture

The Kaiser, the engineers, and the roots of modernist functionalism

German arts and crafts and American consumer culture

The architects' encounter with technology : distance and cross-fertilization

From modernity to modernism : a transatlantic undertaking

The military, the engineers, and the abysses of Sachlichkeit in war

Weimar culture : departing from the old to the new Sachlichkeit

Weimar : five times technology in different contexts

Conclusion : American modernism with and without Europe.

Notes:

"Originally published in German as Transatlantische Rivalitäten: Deutsch und amerikanische Einstellungen zu Technik, Kultur und Moderne. 2024. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlage."--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version Trommler, Frank, 1939- Transatlantische Rivalitäten. English Techno-cultural rivalry

ebook version :

ISBN:

9781836952732

1836952732

OCLC:

1548632815

Publisher Number:

90104233990