Forty-fifth Symposium of the International Committee for the History of Technology: "Technological Drive from Past to Future? 50 Years of ICOHTEC," Jean Monnet University, Saint-Étienne, France, 17–21 July 2018

The forty-fifth annual symposium of ICOHTEC (the International Committee for the History of Technology) took place at the Jean Monnet University, Saint-Étienne, France, 17–21 July 2018. Some forty different subthemes listed at the end of this report were examined in one or more sessions of ninety minutes each and with three speakers. An appreciable number of participants explored technological initiatives and social effects from around the globe, allowing for mutual comparisons, including historical desalination in Chile; hydroelectric power stations in Brazil; clean energy in Romania; irrigation systems in Pakistan and China; railways in Africa; and computer advancement in the Warsaw Pact countries.

The symposium was also a proper occasion for celebrating ICOHTECH's fiftieth anniversary. Founded in 1968, ICOHTECH aims to promote studies on History of Technology (HoT) through conferences and cooperation between researchers, beyond political and geographical divisions. At Saint-Étienne (S.E.), a sizeable number of the 250 participants came from all corners of the world, with participants offering to host future symposia in venues from Chile to India. The symposium was co-organized with the S.E. local organizing committee (LOC). Longtime ICOHTEC members in the LOC, such as Robert Belot (LOC chair), Pierre Lamard, Monique Chapelle, and Alexandre Herlea, helped to facilitate the preparations.

Beginning in Porto 2016, ICOHTEC co-organizes with the LOCs a "summer school," that shortly precedes the annual symposium. Aimed at rethinking historical and contemporary narratives on technology, the school is open to Ph.D. students and recent postdoctoral researchers. The teachers are longtime researchers in the history of technology. Participation has gained momentum and in Saint-Étienne, the school was held during 16–17 July, with some participants joining the symposium afterwards. See more in the last pages of the report. The next summer school session was held before the next symposium in Katowice, Poland, 22–27 July 2019.

The official reception took place at the Saint-Étienne city hall (17 July) and was held by Michel Rautenberg, Dean of the Humanities faculty, with welcoming notes by councilor of the Loire Department Mr. Georges Ziegler, ICOHTEC president Sławomir Łotysz, and Robert Belot. Professor Robert Bud, the research keeper at the Science Museum in London, delivered the traditional Kranzberg Memorial Lecture, titled "Conceptual History: Branding and Technology as Part of the Public Sphere." Bud reflected on the concept of "technology" in the English public sphere over time. The changing meaning of technology, more than any other outcome of human culture, has been used to calibrate the metronome of progress.

In the following days, participants presented findings and viewpoints through fruitful discussions. The hospitality of the French team, excursions to memorable technological and cultural sites in Saint-Étienne, and the surroundings and the social events all worked to make the conference successful and enjoyable. In the next paragraphs, a brief outline of selected subthemes and sessions will be given.

One session, chaired by Alex Lesanu, was devoted to the role of "Electricity in Cultural and Political Development." Various perspectives were presented not only on how electrical infrastructure influenced the local contexts, but also on the challenges of recognizing the electrical network as part of technological and cultural heritage. Duygu Aysal Cin considered the status and the role of electric poles in Ottoman Istanbul during World War I, concentrating on how electricity shifted from a commodity forbidden for private use to a commercial product. Fabian Zimmer investigated the cultural representations of hydroelectric dams in 1950s European industrial films—the effects of the rise of both European documentary film and hydroelectricity after World War II. By close-reading films, Zimmer decodes the culture–nature relations represented by specific aesthetic strategies. Michael Hascher discussed the issue of preservation and protection of the electrical infrastructure, now obsolete and deteriorating. He asked how to deal with the remaining elements of the old networks and called for a...