Sugar was also first associated with the rich and the noble classes, and it remained out of the reach ofthe less privileged for centuries.
explains a lot. everything is based off of white supremacy and the idea that they will do whatever it takes to hold onto that superiority.
This leads me to a discussion of sweetness, as opposed to sweet substances. Sweetness is a tastewhat Hobbes called a "Quality"-and the sugars, sucrose (which is won principally from the cane and the sugar beet) among them, are substances that excite the sensation of sweetness. Since any normal human being can apparently experience sweetness, and since all the societies we know of recognize it, something about sweetness must be linked to our character as a species. Yet the liking for sweet things is of highly variable intensity. Hence, an explanation of why some peoples eat lots of sweet things and others hardly any cannot rely on the idea of the species-wide characteristic.
this background explanation of the author's way of thinking of the subject is important to further understand the issue at hand
the Caribbean case, such products have long been, and largely still are, tropical foods: spices (such as ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and mace); beverage bases (coffee and chocolate); and, above all, sugar and rum. At one time, dyes (such as indigo and annatto and fustic) were important; various starches, starch foods, and bases (such as cassava, from which tapioca is made, arrowroot, sago, and various species of Zamia) have also figured in the export trade; and a few industrial staples (like sisal) and essential oils (like vetiver) have mattered; bauxite, asphalt, and oil still do. Even some fruits, such as bananas, pineapples, and coconuts, have counted in the world market from time to time.
this is such a rich description that captures Caribbean culture...i wish that instead of the abuse it could have been more appreciated.
I do not know if coffee and sugar are essential to the happiness of Europe, but I know well that these two products have accounted for the unhappiness of two great regions of the world: America has been depopulated so as to have land on which to plant them; Africa has been depopulated so as to have the people to cultivate them.
i think this sums it up
As the many occupations listed on the Island Estate account suggest, sugar production was a complex process that combined punishing labor on the ground with careful administration from above.
it saddens me to see that no job or role was untouched...that they had the audacity to assign enslaved men and women jobs with brutal regulations.
How does the history of American slavery fit into the history of American capitalism? This question is not new. Generations of his-torians and scholars have asked it in diferent ways since emancipation
basically american capitalism is based on the history of enslaved africans...they brought everything to this land
Slaves were fundamental to the production processes and it is logical to assume that they played a part in technical innovations. Admittedly, their activities are difficult to ascertain, given the heavy reliance on written records and the invisibility of the slaves' views in such sources
its technically unfair that that proper documentation from an enslaved jamaican from this time is unavailable. knowing their perspectives would be valuable and offer insight to the truth and a different perspective.
This relationship cannot be overemphasised:
this relationship explains why the enslavement of Jamaican people continued to occur ....because the industry expanded to importing and exporting thus increasing demand...
gender bias in Caribbean plantations at least with regards to plantation jobs. While slave men dominated the skilled tasks, artisan jobs, slave women were relegated to the more menial field and factory labour.
in this sense, gender can be looked at as a technology. that it was used against people to separate them into gender based roles in which they were neglected for both race and gender
This chapter is a contribution to the general debate on slavery and techno-logical changes or innovations in slave societies. By presenting an analysis of empirical evidence of technological innovations which were adopted and adapted to sugar-cane mills in Jamaica during the period 1760-1830, the technical capacity of this Caribbean slave society is highlighted.
this relates to the central topic of this class...technology and race. the technology was advanced at the stakes of enslaved jamaicans just to produce sugar (technology)
92 ImperativesandCreative Culturediscussionof,'technologyandart',we rarely hearanybodytalkingabout'technologyasart'.41Yet it is not only theapparentusefulnessoftechnologythatimpels us to developit.Thereare imperatives thatdrive us beyondusefulness,thoughas we have seen, efforts to explainthemget us into difficult areas. Aesthetic satisfactions may be easy tounderstand,butwhen people talk about the cathedral-building impulseas'aspirationtohigherthings'one may suspect an evasion
i love this idea of technology as art. and think that it should be promoted especially here at tech. what does it mean: technology as art? it means that through art innovation can arise, art inspires the next new idea, and creates visual appeal, emotional pleasure
So iscancerofthecervix,which is more common in BangladeshthanBritain,morecommoninnorthernEnglandthan the south, andmorecommonamongAmericanblacks and hispanics than amongwhites.Thuscontrolofthe disease byscreening- available morereadilyto thebetteroff-hasbeendescribedas 'a betrayalofwomenoftheThirdWorldandourownpoor'.
This arises concern for the debate on racism vs classism....hmm is race involved here in the transmission of disease?
Thisideaoftechnicaladvance as the leading edge of progress iswidelyheld;itconstituteswhat some have called'machinemysticism'.Thuswe see ourselves as livingin thecomputerage or thenuclearagewhichhassucceededthenineteenth-centuryageofsteam.
what a time to be alive
Theresultisthatcomputerizationistendingto'strengthenratherthanweaken...centralizationandhierarchy'inmodemorgani-zation.
What type of hierarchy are they referring to?
Undoubtedly,computerizationcan help us cope with the complexityofthemodernworld and thepressureofresource shortages,buttheproblemsassociatedwith itshouldnot be disguised.Microprocessorsallow many kindsofequipment to be more compact andenergy-efficient.Computersandmoderncommunicationsmay allow a trade ininforma-tionto grow at a timewhentrade in material goods could becomerestricted.
This relates to what we discussed in class. Especially, the advent of mobile technology.
Tohope for atechnicalfix for anyofthemthatdoes not alsoinvolvesocial andculturalmeasuresis topursuean illusion.
Pursuing a goal for the goodness of others is what makes up altruism and the belief of giving back to others. this helps explain why in many cultures charity is a central part of what they practice.
Technology:PracticeandCulture5professionalorganizationamong scientists and technologists.Theseareimportanttopics, butthereis a wide range of other humancontentintechnology-practicewhich such studies often neglect, includingpersonalvalues and individual experience of technical work.Tobringall these things into a studyoftechnology-practice mayseemlikely to make it bewilderingly comprehensive. However, byrememberingthe way in which medical practice has a technical andethicalas well as an organizational element, we can obtain a moreorderlyviewofwhattechnology-practiceentails.Tomany politically-mindedpeople,theorganizationalaspectmay seem most crucial.Itrepresentsmany facetsofadministration, and publicpolicy;it relates totheactivitiesofdesigners,engineers,technicians, andproductionworkers,and alsoconcernsthe users and consumers of whateverisproduced.Manyotherpeople, however, identify technology with itstechnicalaspect,becausethat has to do with machines, techniques,knowledgeand the essentialactivityofmaking things work.Beyondthat,though,thereare values which influence the creativityofdesignersand inventors.These,togetherwith the variousbeliefs andhabitsofthinkingwhich arecharacteristicof technical and scientificactivity, can beindicatedby talking about an ideological orculturalaspectoftechnology-practice.Thereis some riskofambiguity here,becausestrictly speaking, ideology, organization,techniqueand toolsareall aspectsofthecultureofa society. But in common speech,culturereferstovalues, ideas and creativeactivity,and it is convenientto use thetermwith this meaning.
i agree. I think a large part of society and culture is influenced by creative expression. together they go hand in hand. creativity cannot exist without culture. culture is creativity. we thrive off of it. we are creativity.
includingpersonalvalues and individual experience of technical work.
This distinction highlights the fact the each person's perception of culture is different and despite many attempts to organize people, there will always be individuality within technology and culture.