Mumford, Lewis
Historian and social philosopher Lewis Mumford (1895–1990) produced a broad critique of modern technology complemented by studies of art, architecture, and urban life. Born in Flushing, New York, on October 19, Mumford studied at the City College of New York (CUNY) but contracted tuberculosis and was forced to leave before earning a degree. In 1919 he became associate editor of the Dial, and he later worked as architectural critic for the New Yorker. His first book, The Story of Utopias (1922), was a literary survey that examined the place of technology in society. This became the main theme in Technics and Civilization (1934), which was a founding work in the social history of technology. Although he voiced critical attitudes that sometimes anticipated wider cultural shifts (Hughes and Hughes 1990), Mumford also saw science and technology as positive forces in history. In 1936 he and his wife Sophia settled in rural Amenia, New York, where he died on January 26 more than half a century later, after a lengthy period of dementia.
Life in Context
In 1915 Mumford discovered the writings of Scottish philosopher Patrick Geddess (1854–1932), from whom he learned to see the built environment and social processes as reciprocal influences.
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