Typewriter: A Case Study In Technological Innovation And Social Change

When the words cultural artifacts come to mind, most people unconsciously think of ancient artifacts, statues, paintings and other artistic creations. With the term cultural artifact remaining relatively undefined, not many people would presume the following essay was written on a machinery inspired from a cultural artifact. The computer’s design, as unlikely as it seems is based on the typewriter. The typewriter amongst other revolutionary inventions would lead to educational enlightment of thousands, social mobility for women while synchronously become a tool to control thousands. In the following essay will analyze the typewriter’s creation, evolution and its different applications by individuals. Moreover this essay will respectively focus to the “Woman and the Typewriter: A Case Study in Technological Innovation and Social Change” by Donald Hoke in order to highlight the importance of the typewriter into empowering women. It is important to specify how the typewriter is connected to the idea

Clearly they were more suited for handling the typewriter than men by nature combined with the fact that they were eager to work despite the significantly smaller wage. What Hake demonstrates in his article is how this mechanical creation was “the perfect ticket” for a rather enjoyable, suitable work environment and profession for women during the second half of the 19th century. It might not have been created specifically for women social process, but this does not change the fact that either directly or indirectly the large accumulation of typewriters in most offices was something that women were naturally better and more eager to deal with. It is because of this eagerness to work in an office, in addition to the preference for women by the employers that the typewriter brought that would eventually bring about social change and a more equal office environment for