The Newberry Library Seminar on Technology, Politics, and Culture

Friday, January 26, 2006, 3:30–5:00 p.m.
Tesla and Russolo: Examining “Future” Sound Culture and Transmission at the Turn of the 20th Century
Phylis Johnson and Josh Gumiela, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

Imagination was reawakened by the convergence of the literary, musical, artistic, and scientific genius of the late 19th century and early 20th century. As the War of the Currents waged between inventors Nikola Tesla and Guglielmo Marconi, wild speculation ran rampant about forthcoming technologies, social orders, and a host of utopian/dystopian possibilities. The race to create a global medium, however, had become overshadowed by the corporate and public push for a tangible product. Admirable as it was, radio’s birth into the industrialization era was doomed to define it as a commodity.

All papers are pre-circulated electronically to those who plan to attend the seminar in person. For a copy of the paper, e-mail Jenny Fink at scholl@newberry.org, or call 312-255-3524. Please do not request the paper unless you plan to attend the seminar.

Co-sponsored by the University of Illinois at Chicago, Roosevelt University, the Illinois Institute of Technology, and Northwestern University's School of Communications