Edison versus Tesla: Myth and Style in Technological History | National Humanities Center

Humanities in Class: Webinar Series

Edison versus Tesla: Myth and Style in Technological History

Scientists; Popular Culture; History of Technology; Inventions

W. Bernard Carlson (Joseph L. Vaughan Professor of Humanities, University of Virginia)

August 30, 2018

Thanks to movies, video games, novels, and Elon Musk, Nikola Tesla has, in the past few years, has become a prominent figure in American pop culture. At the same time, his rival Thomas Edison has come to be seen as a greedy villain. In this talk, we will explore both the myth and facts around the Tesla-Edison rivalry to understand how inventors develop distinct styles and how those different styles are critical to how societies create and manage disruptive innovation.


Subjects

Technology / History / Science / Scientists / Popular Culture / History of Technology / Inventions /

Rights

Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0