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Machines and Machinery in Seventeenth–Century France (and Beyond) Wednesday, April 30 Machines have become a part of our everyday lives in the twenty-first century. They wake us up in the morning, make us coffee, allow us access to our bank accounts, and even record our most personal feelings and ideas. This presentation focuses on the role and the effect of machines in seventeenth-century France, the first great machine-building century in French history and perhaps Western history as well, when theatrical machines ruled the stage – the most popular form of entertainment at the time—and Blaise Pascal built the first machine à calculer, the ancestor of today’s computers and other calculating machines. But what exactly is a machine? How does it really work? Does the machine have an effect on its user, and vice-versa? In responding to these questions with respect to the period in question, we can begin to understand some of the most fundamental aspects of our ongoing and evolving relationship with the machines of today and tomorrow. |
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