Technology, Violence, and War : Essays in Honor of Dr. John F. Guilmartin, Jr.

This volume explores the importance of technology in war, and to the study of warfare, during the past millennium, across several continents. Authors discuss interactions between politics, strategy, war, technology, and the socio-cultural implementation of new technologies in different contexts.

This volume honors the life and work of Dr. John F. Guilmartin, Jr., an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, a Professor of History, and our esteemed mentor. Joe was a model servant of the Republic, serving through deed and word. For 23 years he protected the citizenry in the United States Air Force, and, for 40 years afterwards, dedicated himself to shepherding young minds in academe. Joe's scholarly efforts ranged widely from mentoring thousands of students to advancing knowledge in a broad geographic area extending from Colorado Springs, CO, to Marrakesh, Morocco.

The contributors' 15 chapters follow Joe's paper, highlighting the necessity of understanding technology and warfare contextually and with sufficient depth. They are divided into four broad epochs and cover a global range of topics and wars. The first part's chapters discuss the integration and understanding of technology in a new framework between 1300 and 1800. The next segment's chapters evaluate the use of technology in the 1800s, incorporating the impact of organizational and governmental inputs to technological development. The following piece's chapters continue the trend of investigating the interpretations of technology during the world wars in an institutional and conflict-based context. The final portion's chapters expand the bounds of technology in warfare, delving into the abstract relation between information and technology, while examining the human response. Collectively, these chapters represent the breadth of Joe's definition of technology, while arguing his essential point that mental and physical tools must be understood from the perspective of those who used them, and that technology does not spring fully formed like Athena from Zeus' brow, but rather evolves as we use it.


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