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Electricity is an indispensable part of modern life today. Transportation vehicles that enable us to cover long distances, electronic devices used for various purposes in hospitals, workplaces, and homes, street and city lights that provide us with a sense of security at night... But how did electricity, which plays a vital role in our daily lives today, enter our lives? How has it affected our thoughts, emotions, habits, natural and urban environments, production and labor practices, and consumption culture, and how have all these been affected by it? A Current Emerged: Electric Life from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic in Istanbul brings together researchers from various disciplines such as history, economics, architecture, urban planning, and industrial design, who have long pondered over the practices of electricity generation, distribution, and consumption. It explores how individuals from the literary world to the scientific community, from companies managed by foreign capital to factory spaces, from streets to homes, have been related to electricity technology and infrastructure, spanning from the Ottoman era to the Republic, encompassing political elites, intellectuals, engineers, architects, international financial entrepreneurs, workers, and consumers. While focusing on themes of technology, politics, global capitalism, labor, gender, and material culture, rather than presenting technological advancements as glamorous success stories, it traces the social and cultural adventure of electricity. Striving to paint a multifaceted picture of electricity, the book aims to reveal not only electricity’s progressive and promising aspects but also the tensions, inequalities, and unrest it generates.

Link to the book