Monday, September 10, 2012

Wolfgang Schivelbusch, The Railroad Journey

Citation: Schivelbusch, Wolfgang. The Railway Journey: The Industrialization of Time and Space in the 19th Century. Berkely: U of California P, 1977. Print.

Summary:
 The Railway Journey explores how the most groundbreaking technologies are also the  ones that most dismantle our perceptions of reality, especially those of time and space. in the case of this book it is the railroad, which was revolutionary in the sense that is took passengers further and faster than any mode of transportation ever had. The displacement that passengers experienced was well and poorly recieved; some were fascinated by the convenience while others longed for the longer time spent and more direct experience with the space traversed that they previously spent on while riding in horse-drawn buggies. This displacement is relevant to today's time, in which the internet can now transport--although not truly physically--anyone, anywhere, completely altering all sense of time and space.
 
The Railway Journey: Discussion Questions

1.       Quote from page 13 of The Railway Journey:

"As the new technology terminated the original relationship between the pre-industrial traveler and his vehicle and its journey, the old technology was seen, nostalgically, as having more ‘soul’."

Applicable for the introduction of the railway, for me this quote resonates clearly in today’s modernized world as well. This quote relates to our everyday tasks that have evolved from more “simpler” methods, such sending a casual email instead of handwriting a letter to someone, or finding information online versus searching for and looking through hard-copy books in a library.
In terms of art, does anyone feel like this idea can relate to the abundance of digital art that is now a huge part of our society? Does digital art have more or less ‘soul’ to anyone? Does anyone respond to a particular form of art they think has more ‘soul’ than another form of art, digital or not? What constitutes ‘soul’ in the first place?

2.       Quote from page 63 of The Railway Journey:

"Thus the intensive experience of the sensuous world, terminated by the industrial revolution, underwent a resurrection in the new institution of photography. Since immediacy, close-ups, and foreground had been lost in reality, they appeared particularly attractive in the new medium."

How has the perception of photography changed since its infancy when compared with today’s visually fueled digital age that is overabundant in photography? What does everyone think about devices like camera phones and programs like Instagram that allow anyone to be a photographer? How has digital photography affected the photographic process as a whole, a process that used to be done entirely by hand? Does the idea of ‘soul’ come into play here?

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