Cultural anthropologist Gretchen Bakke unveils the many facets of America's energy infrastructure
, its most dynamic moments and its most stable ones, and its essential role in personal and national life. The grid, she argues, is an essentially American artifact, one which developed with us:
a product of bold expansion
the occasional foolhardy vision
some genius technologies
constant improvisation.
Most of all, her focus is on how Americans are changing the grid right now, sometimes with gumption and big dreams and sometimes with legislation or the brandishing of guns.
The Grid tells—entertainingly, perceptively—the story of what has been called “the largest machine in the world"
: its fascinating history, its problematic present, and its potential role in a brighter, cleaner future.
About the author
Gretchen Bakke holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago
in Cultural Anthropology. She has done research on several failing nations, including the Soviet Union, the former Yugoslavia, and Cuba. She is a former fellow in Wesleyan University
's Science in Society Program and currently an assistant professor of anthropology at McGill University
.
Cultural anthropologist Gretchen Bakke unveils the many facets of America's energy infrastructure
, its most dynamic moments and its most stable ones, and its essential role in personal and national life. The grid, she argues, is an essentially American artifact, one which developed with us:
a product of bold expansion
the occasional foolhardy vision
some genius technologies
constant improvisation.
Most of all, her focus is on how Americans are changing the grid right now, sometimes with gumption and big dreams and sometimes with legislation or the brandishing of guns.
The Grid tells—entertainingly, perceptively—the story of what has been called “the largest machine in the world"
: its fascinating history, its problematic present, and its potential role in a brighter, cleaner future.
About the author
Gretchen Bakke holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago
in Cultural Anthropology. She has done research on several failing nations, including the Soviet Union, the former Yugoslavia, and Cuba. She is a former fellow in Wesleyan University
's Science in Society Program and currently an assistant professor of anthropology at McGill University
.