Overview

At the turn of the twentieth century, the United States and Germany were seen as rivals in a “race for modernity,” each pursuing distinct visions of the future. America’s image as a technological pioneer reshaped European self-perception, while Germany asserted its own path through science, engineering, and a far-reaching reform of design, architecture, and applied arts. This book explores the cultural encounters and confrontations between 1880 and the 1930s, moving beyond familiar narratives of Fordism and Taylorism to reveal technology as a dynamic cultural force. By tracing the adoption of German science in the United States, the American endeavors of conceptualizing technology in the search for a genuine American culture, and the German fascination and critique of “Americanism” in the Weimar republic, it offers new perspectives on transatlantic modernity.

Full Product Details

Author:   Frank Trommler
Publisher:   Berghahn Books
Imprint:   Berghahn Books
ISBN:  

9781836952732

ISBN 10:   1836952732
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   15 April 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

List of Figures Introduction Chapter 1. From Stingy Peasants and Romantic Dreamers to the German Industrial State Chapter 2. America and German Science Chapter 3. Culture as a Catch-up Process: Technology and Efficiency as Guarantors of the Nation Chapter 4. Technology and Culture: Transatlantic Distances and Challenges Chapter 5. French Enthusiasm for Technology and Deliberations on American Culture Chapter 6. The Kaiser, the Engineers, and the Roots of Modernist Functionalism Chapter 7. German Arts and Crafts and American Consumer Culture Chapter 8. The Architects’ Encounter with Technology: Distance and Cross-Fertilization Chapter 9. From Modernity to Modernism: A Transatlantic Undertaking Chapter 10. The Military, the Engineers, and the Abysses of Sachlichkeit in War Chapter 11. Weimar Culture: Departing from the Old to the New Sachlichkeit Chapter 12. Weimar: Five Times Technology in Different Contexts Conclusion: American Modernism with and without Europe Bibliography Index

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Author Information

Frank Trommler, Professor emeritus of German at the University of Pennsylvania, was a member of the Department of Germanics since 1970. A Guggenheim Fellow in 1984/85, President of the German Studies Association in 1991/92, and from 1995-2003 Director of the Humanities Program at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies in Washington, DC. In 2014 he received the Honorary Doctorate of Modern Languages from the Middlebury Language School. One of the leading cultural historians of modern Germany, Trommler has published widely in the field of German-American relations.

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