School of History and Sociology Theses and Dissertations
Original work in partial fulfillment of a graduate degree in the School of History and Sociology, (formerly School of History, Technology, and Society).
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Recent Submissions
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The birth of the Taipei Metro and technological hybridity under American hegemony: The history of the rail mass transportation in postwar Taiwan
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-05-18)This dissertation discusses how a complex rail mass transportation emerged in postwar Taiwan, with particular emphasis on the role of U.S.-Taiwan relations in shaping Taiwan's profession of transportation studies and ... -
Race space: The transformation of iconic motorsport circuits from public use to large technical system (1950 – 2010)
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019-07-23)The 1950s marked the beginning of a key transformational period in automobility and the socio-technical realm of motorsports. However, the car was not at the heart of the narrative which was much more complex. In Post-War ... -
Engineering Shanghai: Water, sewage, and the making of hydraulic modernity
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019-05-08)This dissertation explores the water technologies in Shanghai from the mid-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century and in what ways the infrastructures – the drainage system, the water supply, culverted rivers, the ... -
Winning real food on campus: The role of opportunity structures, strategic capacity, and identity in the outcomes of student campaigns
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-11-05)U.S. college campuses have been important sites of protest and social movement activity since the Civil Rights and New Left movements of the 1960s. Despite this, the outcomes of student activism have received relatively ... -
The role of engineering technology as a pathway for African Americans into the field of engineering
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-05-21)Engineering Technology serves as a potential pathway for African Americans into engineering. Yet research and data demonstrate that African Americans are severely underrepresented in the field of engineering. This study ... -
Flood control and metropolitan development in Houston, Miami and Tampa, 1935-1985
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-04-10)This research focuses on three Southeastern cities – Houston, Miami, and Tampa – that are particularly vulnerable to the repercussions of climate change because of their successful development on coastal plains. The rapid ... -
Modernity and the spirit of the sea: Maritime influences on early modern English state institutions and society, 1485-1763
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-03-29)Beginning in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Europeans developed and applied science and technology in a project of oceanic exploration, trade, and colonization, that when coupled with messianic fervor, entrepreneurial ... -
One satellite for the world: The American Landsat earth observation satellite in use, 1953-2008
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017-04-05)In July 1972, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched the Earth Resources Technology Satellite-A, later renamed Landsat, which was the first of its kind. NASA launched seven more Landsats with one ... -
Flying the flag: Gender and the projection of national progress through global air travel, 1920-1960
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017-04-05)This dissertation uses a feminist analytical lens to study questions of power and difference in the gendered and racial dynamics of marketing strategies, public relations, and employment within the aviation industry from ... -
Evolution of United States telecommunications policy, technology, and competition at the Bell Operating Companies 1952-1996
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017-10-13)Attention is focused on the local Bell Operating Companies (BOCs) and to the changes initially driven by competition in Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). The federal court’s decision in January 1982 resulted in AT&T’s ... -
Consuming science: A history of soft drinks in modern China
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-01-14)This dissertation investigates the development of the soft drink market in China from the late nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century, with particular attention to the rise of Coca-Cola. It examines how soft ... -
National aspirations, imagined futures, and space exploration: The origin and development of Korean Space Program 1958-2013
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015-11-13)The goal of my dissertation is to describe the history of the South Korean1 space program and to use it to offer some insights on reframing space history from a global point of view. South Korea is a new player among the ... -
Food deserted: race, poverty, and food vulnerability in Atlanta, 1980 - 2010
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-11-11)The concept of food deserts, as a measure of low-income neighborhoods with limited access to affordable and healthy produce, can be helpful as a tool to quantify and compare food vulnerabilities, as many recent studies ... -
Redefining the sacred in 3D virtual worlds: exploratory analysis of knowledge production and innovation through religious expression
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-10-30)This dissertation contributes to conversations regarding the impact of open user centered innovation on cultural production by focusing on the construction and production of religious products within one large-scale open ... -
Technological discipline, obese bodies and gender: A sociological analysis of gastric banding
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013-08-22)America's obesity ̒epidemic̕, coupled with increasing use of biomedical technologies in healthcare, has helped usher in new technoscientific methods to medically manage the bodies of overweight and obese individuals. ... -
Satellite meteorology in the cold war era: scientific coalitions and international leadership 1946-1964
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-01-07)In tracing the history of the TIROS meteorological satellite system, this dissertation details the convergence of two communities: the DOD space scientists who established US capability to launch and operate these remote ... -
Policy drought: water resource management, urban growth, and technological solutions in post-world war II Atlanta
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013-01-11)By the dawn of the twenty-first century the City of Atlanta was facing a crisis of water quantity and water quality. It was involved in two-decades worth of litigation with the states of Alabama and Florida over access to ... -
Space for "development": US-Indian space relations 1955 -1976
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-11-18)Through four case studies of technological systems - optical tracking of satellites, sounding rockets, instructional television through a geosynchronous satellite, and a launch vehicle--I explore the origins and development ... -
Turing award scientists: contribution and recognition in computer science
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012-05-18)One of the most significant rewards in science is peer recognition, often bestowed in the form of awards. However, little is known about what sets apart award-winning contributions, how award committees determine prize-worthy ... -
Exploring regional innovation capacities of PR China: toward the study of knowledge divide
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-11-14)This study investigates the underlying factors influencing the large variances in innovation performance among the Chinese regions. What is specified in the study is the issue of the knowledge divide in China as existing ...
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