caa a22 4500 378885383 CHVBK 20180305123441.0 cr unu---uuuuu 161128e200404 xx s 000 0 eng 10.1515/zaa.2004.52.2.121 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)gruyter-10.1515/zaa.2004.52.2.121 Decker Christof Das Ende der republikanischen Maschine: Technik und Fortschritt in Edward Bellamys Looking Backward (1888) und Equality (1897) [Elektronische Daten] [Christof Decker] Edward Bellamy's utopian novels are usually regarded as important albeit controversial contributions to the political discourse in American culture. However, the crucial role of technology, its impact on Bellamy's political philosophy, theory of the subject, and concept of fictionality, has not been adequately acknowledged in recent critical discussions. This essay sets out to examine the wide range of machines and inventions introduced in Bellamy's fiction as an essential aspect of his utopian imagination. On the one hand, technology takes on a metaphorical function by transforming the principles of cooperation and efficiency into a fascinating spectacle; on the other, it opens up a new realm of public entertainment shifting the notion of individuality into the context of an industrialized popular culture. Most importantly, technology contributes to the sense of ambiguity and anxiety noticeable in Bellamy's novels. Even though the author advocates a republican ideal of technology where machinery should serve the common good by advancing use and beauty, his main character Julian West also comes to appreciate its potential for the creation of transgressive modes of experience. Thus, in a crucial shift indicative of Bellamy's modern sensibility, the power of technology serves both to embody but also to destabilize and undermine his utopian vision © 2014 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. Zeitschrift für Anglistik und Amerikanistik De Gruyter 52/2(2004-04), 121-140 52:2<121 2004 52 zaa https://doi.org/10.1515/zaa.2004.52.2.121 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1515/zaa.2004.52.2.121 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 100 1- Decker Christof NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Zeitschrift für Anglistik und Amerikanistik De Gruyter 52/2(2004-04), 121-140 52:2<121 2004 52 zaa CC0 http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0 nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-gruyter