Technology and the rest of culture /

The essays collected here are the proceedings of a conference of the same name, held at The New School for Social Research in New York City in January 1997. Editor Mack states in her introduction that the awkward title best reflects the theme of the conference, namely, that technology partakes of culture even as it helps shape it; it is not an autonomous agent acting on culture. Little or no credit is paid, though, to thinkers who long ago foresaw many of the societal transformations presently underway due to recent technological advances--Marshall McLuhan, Jacques Ellul, and others. Still, the topic net is spread wide. Separate sections treat the concept of technology, science, political life, contemporary moral and political issues, etc. Not surprisingly, the Internet, the general information explosion, and virtual reality concepts--the benefits, the potential drawbacks--figure prominently throughout. The quality of individual essays varies, as does their technical level, but overall it is high. Name contributions come from, among others, Robert Heilbroner, John Hollander, Joshua Lederberg, and Marvin Minsky. No index; more typos than necessary. All in all, however, a useful, interesting compilation. General readers; undergraduates through faculty. M. Schiff College of Staten Island, CUNY