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Understanding Information History

The Case of America in 1920

  • Book
  • © 2024

Overview

Authors:
  1. William Aspray

    1. Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA

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  • Examines the rise of information history as a field
  • Explores the concept and utility of microhistory
  • Investigates microhistory of information in America in 1920

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in History of Computing (BRIEFSHC)

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Table of contents (3 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
    Download chapter PDF

  2. America in 1920: An Information Microhistory

    • William Aspray
    Pages 1-44

  3. An Illustrated Information History of 1920 America

    • William Aspray
    Pages 45-84

  4. What is Information History and How Do We Study It?

    • William Aspray
    Pages 85-98
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Keywords

About this book

Microhistory is a technique that has been used effectively by writers of both fiction and nonfiction. It enables the author to cut through the complexities of large swaths of history by focusing on a particular time and place. Microhistories are particularly useful in historical study when a subfield has recently arisen and there are not yet enough monographic studies from which to draw general patterns. This microhistory focuses on a single year (1920) across the United States, with the goal of understanding the various roles of information in this society. It gives greater emphasis to the informational aspects of traditional historical topics such as farming, government bureaucracy, the Spanish flu pandemic, and Prohibition; and it gives greater attention to information-rich topics such as libraries and museums, schools and colleges, the financial services and office machinery industries, scientific research institutions, and management consultancies. 

Authors and Affiliations

  • Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA

    William Aspray

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Understanding Information History

  • Book Subtitle: The Case of America in 1920

  • Authors: William Aspray

  • Series Title: SpringerBriefs in History of Computing

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-44134-9

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Computer Science, Computer Science (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-44133-2Published: 29 November 2023

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-44134-9Published: 28 November 2023

  • Series ISSN: 2662-3005

  • Series E-ISSN: 2662-3013

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: X, 98

  • Number of Illustrations: 22 b/w illustrations, 14 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: History of Computing, US History, Science and Technology Studies, Consumer Behavior

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