18.256 Johns' critique of Latour

               Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 18, No. 256.
       Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
                   www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/
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         Date: Sat, 02 Oct 2004 07:49:03 +0100
         From: Matt Kirschenbaum <mgk_at_umd.edu>
         Subject: Re: 18.253 Latour on immutable mobiles

Willard,

See also Adrian Johns' critique of Latour (and Eisenstein) in his
magisterial _The Nature of the Book_ (Chicago, 1998); particularly with
regard to Latour's use of Tycho Brahe.

And this online piece, "The elusive origins of immutable mobiles," is an
excellent companion to the debate, and includes a response from Eisenstein
herself:

<http://www.stanford.edu/group/STS/immutablemobile.htm>http://www.stanford.edu/group/STS/immutablemobile.htm

Matt

Humanist Discussion Group (by way of Willard McCarty ) wrote:
> Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 18, No. 253.
> Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
>
><http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/>www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/

>
> www.princeton.edu/humanist/
> Submit to:
> <mailto:humanist_at_princeton.edu>humanist_at_princeton.edu
>
>
>
> Date: Fri, 01 Oct 2004 07:53:33 +0100
> From: Willard McCarty
> <mailto:willard.mccarty_at_kcl.ac.uk><willard.mccarty_at_kcl.ac.uk>
> >
>Allow me to recommend to your attention the article by Bruno Latour,
>"Visualization and Cognition: Thinking with Eyes and Hands", Knowledge and
>Society: Studies in the Sociology of Culture Past and Present 6 (1986):
>1-40. (This can be a hard item to find because the journal is not all that
>commonly available. ISSN: 0278-1557; BL shelfmark P.861/693.) Latour in
>essence argues that modern scientific culture has come about as a result
>not of changes in the mind or human consciousness but is a product of
>certain conceptual tools allowing many things to be brought together
>simultaneously without distortion to many places. He deals principally with
>the printing press (citing Eisenstein's study prominently) and with
>perspective drawing.
>
>Yours,
>WM
>
>[NB: If you do not receive a reply within 24 hours please resend]
>Dr Willard McCarty | Senior Lecturer | Centre for Computing in the
>Humanities | King's College London | Strand | London WC2R 2LS || +44 (0)20
>7848-2784 fax: -2980 ||
><mailto:willard.mccarty_at_kcl.ac.uk>willard.mccarty_at_kcl.ac.uk
>www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/wlm/

--
Matthew G. Kirschenbaum
<http://www.otal.umd.edu/~mgk/>http://www.otal.umd.edu/~mgk/