Michelle Henning
The things signs do: Cultural history through the work of the Isotype Institute
Henning, Michelle
Authors
Abstract
This paper addresses how cultural history conceives of cultural forms and practices: as mediated expressions of socio-economic reality or as participants in the production of that reality. I explore this through a case study of the Isotype Institute, and its relation to scientific management, or Taylorism. Using examples of Isotype associates’ roles in pre-war and wartime social and economic planning movements, this paper considers how Isotype emerged from and participated in the dissemination of Taylorisms different from the one understood now and suggests that Isotype was not a cultural translation of Taylorism but an agent in the production of new social arrangements.
Citation
Henning, M. (2008, August). The things signs do: Cultural history through the work of the Isotype Institute. Paper presented at Orientations: The International Society for cultural history conference, Ghent
Presentation Conference Type | Conference Paper (unpublished) |
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Conference Name | Orientations: The International Society for cultural history conference |
Conference Location | Ghent |
Start Date | Aug 27, 2008 |
End Date | Aug 31, 2008 |
Peer Reviewed | Not Peer Reviewed |
Keywords | Taylorism, cultural history, Otto Neurath, Isotype |
Public URL | https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1010369 |