Technology Thematic Essay Outlines Theme: Technology Task: Select two technological innovations and for each 1. Describe the existing technology that was replaced by this new technological innovation AND how this new innovation changed the existing technology. 2. Discuss the effects this new technological innovation has had on a society or the world. Some choices you could write about include: gunpowder, the steam engine, internet communications, nuclear power, . . . The Printing Press: The Factory System (Industrialization) 1. Existing Technology: During the Middle Ages (500’s-­‐1200’s), books were mostly copied by hand and it could take five months to produce one book. The Chinese invented block printing in which a person carved words on a wooden block, put ink on the block, and then used it to print on paper. The Chinese also invented movable type which had a separate piece for each character in the language. New Innovation: Around 1440, Johann Gutenberg developed a printing press that combined many ideas into a new system of printing. Gutenberg’s printing press made it possible to produce books quickly and cheaply. Gutenberg printed a complete Bible, the Gutenberg Bible, in about 1455. 2. Effects: Gutenberg’s Printing Press would greatly affect Europe during the Renaissance. Hundreds of copies of a single work could be copied for the first time. Books became cheaper so many people could buy them. Literacy rates (the ability to read and write) would increase across Europe and new ideas would spread. The printing press would help spread Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, which protested the church’s sale of indulgences, across Europe. This helped spark the Protestant Reformation which weakened the power of the Catholic Church forever. 1. Existing Technology: Throughout most of history, clothes were produced sewing by hand. Hand powered spinning wheel machines were invented in the 1100’s, but they were slow and most clothes were produced at home and sold to others through a process known as the domestic system. The Spinning Jenny, invented in 1764, made the process faster but was still hand powered and done mostly at home. New Innovation: In the 1700s, new machines powered by water and steam began producing clothes and other goods in factories. These new machines in factories led to the factory system. This allowed clothes (textiles) and other goods to be mass produced. 2. Effects: The Factory system led to a mass production of goods by machines. This was called the Industrial Revolution. It began in Great Britain in the 1700s and spread to Europe and the United States in the 1800s. The amount of goods produced led to cheaper prices. It also led to the growth of cities (urbanization) as people moved off farms to take jobs in factories. Factories created unhealthy working conditions, air and water pollution, and child labor. Eventually, the factory system would lead to the formation of labor unions to protect the rights of workers and new economic theories such as Karl Marx and communism. Directions: In space below (and on back), choose ONE of the technological innovations above and write a paragraph addressing the task: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________