We think of ourselves as the first networked age — for the Internet promised to bring us together, to make a world without space and time, without borders, without difference. But a variety of devices, ranging from the railway to the telegraph to the telephone, made similar promises in the 19th century, and, not incidentally, promised to end war and bring an end to poverty. These devices did no such thing — but they did, miraculously, offer a new world of communication and understanding.

What do networks “mean”? This program offers two brilliant examples: the first, the telegraph, which brought media technology to thousands of people, delivering information faster than the fastest runner; the second, the railroad, which offered a new social network as well as rapid movement around the British isles.

In a wide-ranging discussion, University of Georgia’s Richard Menke (English) and UCLA’s Jonathan Grossman (English) join USC College’s Hilary Schor in a discussion of the literature of technological transformation and the invention of the machinery of intimacy and innovation.

To RSVP, use the event code "CC1103".