Mod 2
Storyboard Text
- It is very interesting how we can reimagine what the course of innovation would have been like without the introduction of specific technologies. I just find it hard to believe people were able to live without certain technologies that help us navigate everyday life.
- While the absence of many technologies provided challenges for ancient civilizations, one idea to note is Bess Williamson’s argument that what we perceive as disability in our current world is a product of design. We may view the absence of certain technologies as impairing; however, many examples would not be considered disabling without the infrastructure and design of our society. For example, one may ask how early civilization traveled without the invention of the elevator, yet a modern electric elevator was not yet necessary until the invention of today’s skyscraper. Certain technologies were simply unnecessary by these ancient societies. Furthermore, the roles of technologies can change, impacting the way we view these important innovations. Namely, the reclining chair was one for disabled people, but now poses as a common household furniture. Because technology can shift its use and purpose, you may not be acknowledging the actual impacts of certain technologies, therefore overstating the lack of technology in the past.
- Ok… well I can see how an elevator may not have been necessary in the past. But what about common modern day household technologies like the washing machine and the stove. Surely, without such technologies, people would be belaboring with manual duties to maintain a living! I just couldn’t imagine how much work the wife of the household had to complete to maintain the home without modern-day household technologies.
- Believe it or not - there lies one of the biggest myths of colonial history! Women were not the sole household caretakers. Husbands played a large role in the everyday responsibilities of cooking, cleaning, and managing the children, highlighting how limited resources and modern appliances forced households to adapt to efficiently carry out necessary tasks. For instance, the task of cooking dinner (most often thought to be the job of the housewife) was completed with the help of both sexes. The man butchered the meat and collected buckets of water to cook the meat while the housewife cooked the meat in a kettle and prepared the vegetables from the garden. As both genders played large roles in managing everyday tasks, it emphasizes how we misperceive labor in history. The strategic delegation of tasks among household members provided a method to combat the manual labor of the time.
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