Past and Present Energy Societies

Abundant, salutary, problematic - energy makes history. As a symbol, resource and consumer good, it shapes technologies, politics, societies and cultural world views. Focussing on a range of energy types, from electricity and oil to bioenergy, this volume analyzes the social, cultural and political concepts and discourses of energy and their implementation and materialization within technical systems, applications, media representations and consumer practice. By examining and connecting production, mediation and consumption aspects from an international and interdisciplinary perspective, the book offers an innovative view on how energy is imagined, discussed, staged and used.

»The book is highly relevant for scholars of energy and society, especially for those looking for new ways of analysing relations between energy, culture, politics and technology. All the essays are fresh, new and inspiring for scholars investigating energy and society in Europe as well as in other countries.« Jytte Thorndahl, ICON, 20/1 (2014) »Ein kohärenter Band, dessen Beiträge um das Verhältnis von Energie, Technologie und Gesellschaftsentwicklung kreisen und Rüdiger Graf, H-Soz-u-Kult, 24.09.2012 Reviewed in: ETDE, 7 (2012)