Coda

When I began this blog, I had the idea that it would be an integral part of my critical and reflective technical practice. For the past three years, it has served admirably, providing an easy way to share ideas and code and putting me in touch with a wide range of colleagues and new friends. During that time I've tried to stay true to the promise of "hacks," even if I pushed the boundaries of both "digital" and "history". As my technical work has evolved, however, I've begun to feel like this blog is less and less suited to my day-to-day activities. Rather than try and force it to fit, I've decided to build something new.

Some Winter Reading for Humanist Makers

(Crossposted to Cliopatria & Digital History Hacks)

In December 2004, I bought a copy of Joe Martin's Tabletop Machining to see what would be involved in learning how to make clockwork mechanisms and automata. It was pretty obvious that I had many years of study ahead of me, but I had just finished my PhD and knew that publishing that would take a few years more. So I didn't mind beginning something else that might take ten or fifteen years to master. Since then, I've been reading steadily about making things, but it wasn't until this past fall that I actually had the chance to set up a small Lab for Humanistic Fabrication and begin making stuff in earnest. Since it's December again, I thought I'd put together a small list of books to help other would-be humanist makers.

• Alexander, Christopher. Notes on the Synthesis of Form (Harvard, 1964).
• Ball, Philip. Made to Measure: New Materials for the 21st Century (Princeton, 1999).
• Barrett, William. The Illusion of Technique (Anchor, 1979).
• Basalla, George. The Evolution of Technology (Cambridge, 1989).
• Bryant, John and Chris Sangwin. How Round is Your Circle? Where Engineering and Mathematics Meet (Princeton, 2008).
• Dourish, Paul. Where the Action Is: The Foundations of Embodied Interaction (MIT, 2004).
• Edgerton, David. The Shock of the Old: Technology and Global History since 1900 (Oxford, 2006).
• Frauenfelder, Mark and Gareth Branwyn. The Best of MAKE (O'Reilly, 2007).
• Gershenfeld, Neil. Fab: The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop--from Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication (Basic, 2007).
• Gordon, J. E. Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down (Da Capo, 2003).
• Gordon, J. E. The New Science of Strong Materials: Or Why You Don't Fall through the Floor (Princeton, 2006).
• Harper, Douglas. Working Knowledge: Skill and Community in a Small Shop (Chicago, 1987).
• Igoe, Tom. Making things Talk: Practical Methods for Connecting Physical Objects (Make Books, 2007).
• Ingold, Tim. The Perception of the Environment: Essays on Livelihood, Dwelling and Skill (Routledge, 2000).
• Marlow, Frank M. Machine Shop Essentials (Metal Arts, 2004).
• Martin, Joe. Tabletop Machining (Sherline, 1998).
• McDonough, William and Michael Braungart. Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things (North Point, 2002).
• Molotch, Harvey. Where Stuff Comes From: How Toasters, Toilets, Cars, Computers and Many Other Things Come to Be As They Are (Routledge, 2005).
• Mims, Forrest M., III. Electronic Sensor Circuits and Projects (Master Publishing, 2004).
• Mims, Forrest M., III. Science and Communication Circuits and Projects (Master Publishing, 2004).
• Napier, John. Hands (Princeton, 1993).
• Oberg, Erik, et al. Machinery's Handbook, 28th ed. (Industrial Press, 2008).
• O'Sullivan, Dan and Tom Igoe. Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers (Thomson, 2004).
• Polanyi, Michael. Personal Knowledge (Chicago, 1974).
• Powell, John. The Survival of the Fitter (Practical Action, 1995).
• Pye, David. The Nature and Art of Workmanship (A&C Black, 2008).
• Rathje, William and Cullen Murphy. Rubbish! The Archaeology of Garbage (University of Arizona, 2001).
• Schon, Donald A. The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action (Basic, 1984).
• Sennett, Richard. The Craftsman (Yale, 2008).
• Slade, Giles. Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America (Harvard, 2007).
• Sterling, Bruce. Shaping Things (MIT, 2005).
• Suchman, Lucy. Human-Machine Reconfigurations: Plans and Situated Action (Cambridge, 2006).
• Thackara, John. In the Bubble: Designing in a Complex World (MIT, 2006).
• Thompson, Rob. Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals (Thames & Hudson, 2007).
• Woodbury, Robert S. Studies in the History of Machine Tools (MIT, 1973).

Tags: bricolage | critical technical practice | DIY | fabrication | humanism