[Themaintainers] [EXTERNAL] Add crime and stir?

Tue May 4 10:36:15 EDT 2021

Diana,

Do you know Antina von Schnitzler’s book Democracy’s Infrastructure (https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691170770/democracys-infrastructure)? It’s about the use of pre-paid utility meters in South Africa as a means of preventing non-payment for water and electricity, which was used as a protest tactic under apartheid. Maintenance is not a main focus, but lots of repair and maintenance issues come up throughout the book. It doesn’t exactly address the issues you mention below, but on a somewhat larger scale it does talk about how the state uses infrastructure technology to police citizens’ behavior.

Ben

--
Benjamin Sims
Sociologist
Statistical Sciences Group (CCS-6)
Los Alamos National Laboratory
https://public.lanl.gov/bsims/

From: <themaintainers-bounces at lists.stevens.edu> on behalf of "Montano, Diana" <dmontano at wustl.edu>
Date: Monday, May 3, 2021 at 7:28 AM
To: themaintainers <themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [Themaintainers] Add crime and stir?

Hello all,

This is Diana Montano, cultural historian, and this is my first message to the listserv. I have been following the energetic discussion here for awhile but I'm not sure whether this has been addressed or perhaps it fell off my radar. I recently published on article on power theft in turn-of-the-century Mexico City that follows a grounded perspective and largely examines power theft through judicial cases and thus, the main historical actors are electric company inspectors. Maintenance inspections were one of the scenarios that led to suspicions and eventual arrest/prosecution of power thieves.

I am moving on to a deeper analysis of electric meters, debates on accuracy, who was responsible for assuring the public and changes to legislation, etc., so I was wondering to what extent have members of the group encountered discussions of crime in relation to maintenance routines. Here I am particularly interested in scholarship that deals with the leverage of company employees or government employees to police citizens/clients' private behavior. Obviously these company/state representatives hold substantial power over other individuals and thus, there is plenty of room for corruption and personal gain. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Diana.

Diana J. Montaño, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Department of History

Washington University in St. Louis

One Brookings Drive

St. Louis, MO 63130

dmontano at email.wustl.edu

1-314-935-5459

[Image removed by sender. Cover of Electrifying Mexico]

Electrifying Mexico: Technology and Transformation of a Modern City.
https://utpress.utexas.edu/books/montano-electrifying-mexico

"Ladrones de Luz: Policing Electricity in Mexico City, 1901–1918"
Hispanic American Historical Review (2021) 101 (1): 35–72.
https://read.dukeupress.edu/hahr/article-abstract/101/1/35/168332/Ladrones-de-Luz-Policing-Electricity-in-Mexico"

"Visualizing Imprudentes: Technology and Consumption in Turn-of-the-Century Mexico City," Technology's Stories, 8:2 (2020).
http://www.technologystories.org/visualizing-imprudentes/

"Machucados and Salvavidas: Patented Humour in the Technified Spaces of Everyday Life in Mexico City, 1900-1910," History of Technology, Vol. 34 (2019).
https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/history-of-technology-volume-volume-34-2019-special-issue-history-of-technology-in-latin-america/machucados-and-salvavidas-patented-humour-in-the-technified-spaces-of-everyday-life-in-mexico-city-1900-1910

The City Electric: How Mexico City's People Shaped Its Electrified Future
Blog: https://humanities.wustl.edu/features/diana-montano-city-electric-how-mexico-citys-residents-shaped-its-electrified-future

Consortium for History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Latin America https://www.chstm.org/latin-america

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