Project 3 Proposal

The topic that I am interested in exploring for Project 3 is the development and spread of Luddism in both the United States and the rest of the world. I was inspired by Ted Kaczynski’s “Unabomber Manifesto” and became interested in resistance to technologies. The Luddism movement began in England during the Industrial Revolution, but I am more interested in how it has developed since then, particularly more contemporary times. I think that it is important for me to gain background information regarding Luddism, particularly Ned Ludd, who began the entire movement. I think that I will end up focusing my research on contemporary resistance to technology, Neo-Luddism and Ted Kaczynski. Some critical questions that came to mind when I began my research were regarding how the Luddites spread their anti-technological ideas, especially in contemporary times when technology is vital to most communication. Additionally, I wonder what some experts believe the future of Luddism looks like as the world becomes increasingly advanced in the fields of technology and innovation. Will the movement collapse or simply grow stronger? Although that is a question that can only be answered with speculation, I hope that I can find some opinions which would help me to form my own. I must admit that I have a few biases, however. Because I am an avid user of many different kinds of technologies, I may have difficulties accepting some of the ideologies that have been presented by Luddites, particularly more modern Luddites who criticize technologies that I use on a daily basis. Additionally, extreme behaviors, such as Kaczynski’s letter bombs, are extremely frightening to me, which may cause me to become uncomfortable when divulging into more radical manifestations of Luddism, like those of Ted Kaczynski. I hope that I will be able to put my feelings aside so that I will be able to fully understand the motivations behind Kaczynski’s, and other radical Luddists’, actions. I find it difficult to form even a tentative thesis at this time because a majority of my current research has been background information that I cannot draw conclusions from. 

Sources

Atkinson, Robert. “The Luddites Are Coming!.” CIO 20.1 (2006): 48-50. Computers & Applied Sciences Complete. EBSCO. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.

This article is more focused on more contemporary Luddites...Neo-Luddites. Atkinson describes the growing Neo-Luddite movement and seems to be fearful of how organized and legitimate the group is. Atkinson pleas with the reader, particularly those who work in technological fields, to be aware of the Neo-Luddite movement and what they are capable of today. I would definitely be able to make use of this article in Project 3 because it presents how Neo-Luddites are organized and operate in a more contemporary time period. I think that it would be important to my paper to be able to compare Luddism today and in the past, and I believe that this article would definitely help me in that comparison. 

Chase, Alston. Harvard and the Unabomber: The Education of an American Terrorist. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2003. Print.

In Harvard and the Unabomber, Chase explores Kaczynski’s collegiate years at both Harvard and Cambridge University. Chase, like Kaczynski, graduated from Harvard and, therefore, adds a more personal tone to his writing, having been in the same environment as Kaczynski had. I would utilize this source in my research project in order to better understand Kaczynski and, possibly, draw some conclusions as to why his ideologies, and eventual madness, developed. I think that because Chase faced the same pressures that Kaczynski had during his time at Harvard, he will be able to better assist the reader in understanding some of the reasons that Kaczynski eventually developed into the Unabomber. 

Fox, Nicols. Against the Machine: the Hidden Luddite Tradition in Literature, Art, and Individual Lives. Washington, DC: Island/Shearwater, 2002. Print.

In this book, Fox takes a look at the different, and many, Luddites who have presented themselves throughout history. Fox presents numerous cases of Luddites beginning during the Industrial Revolution and ending in the 20th century. Many of the Luddites which Fox writes about were people of historical significance that I was not aware were “machine breakers”, including Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens and Ralph Waldo Emerson. I would potentially use this book in Project 3 in order to better understand how the Luddite movement developed over time and became what it has today. I also think that I could utilize this book to possibly predict the direction that I believe Luddism is headed in the future. 

Harris, Joseph. “Computer Luddism.” ETC: A Review of General Semantics 41.1 (1984): 56-60. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. 

In this article, Harris focuses mainly on computers and how they have affected our society over time. He believes that in order to understand how and why computers have affected our world to such a great extent, it is important to understand first where they came from. Harris writes beautifully, insisting that we must think of the computer as a metaphor for the world’s culture which demands our study rather than thinking of it as a technology, which would bring about a new wave of Luddism. I think that this article could be a good part of my Project 3 because it was written in the 1980s, before the computer age really began. It could be interesting to compare Harris’ predictions for the future of computers and to see if they actually came true. 

Haynes, Deborah J. “On the Need for Ethical Aesthetics: Or, Where I Stand Between 

Neo-Luddites and Cyberians.” Art Journal 56.3 (1997): 75-82. JSTOR. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.

This article is a bit different from the others which I have cited previously, but I found it to be interesting nonetheless. Haynes is a member of the art community and uses this article to discuss her feelings on the use of technology in the art world. I thought that this was an unusual form that the Neo-Luddite-Cyberian debate would take place, but I think that it does a good job of displaying how prevalent technology is in today’s world. I could use this article in Project 3 to demonstrate that Neo-Luddism can display itself in many different intellectual communities, including the art world. 

Sale, Kirkpatrick. Rebels Against the Future: The Luddites and Their War on the Industrial Revolution: Lessons for the Computer Age. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Pub., 1995. Print. 

Kirkpatrick Sale, in his book Rebels Against the Future, describes the origins of Luddism, which began during the Industrial Revolution with Ned Ludd. Sale describes the struggle which the Luddites were faced with during the Industrial Revolution, a time in which the entire world that they knew was changing. Sale also compares the Industrial Revolution to the more contemporary technologically advanced world which we live in today. He, as the title of the book describes, uses the struggles faced by the Luddites as a warning to present day technology users, an aspect which I could definitely utilize in Project 3. I would also use this book in order to better understand the origins of the Luddite movement and the grounds on which they stand.