Jacob Ward wins 2024 Turriano Prize
The 2024 Turriano Prize from ICOHTEC (the International Committee for the History of Technology) was awarded to Jacob Ward’s book Visions of a Digital Nation (MIT Press, 2024). Jacob shares this prize with Dr Francesco D’Amaro, who was also awarded the Turriano Prize for his book Antipatriotas del agua: conflictos y grupos de interés en el franquismo (Comares, 2022).
The Turriano Prize recognises the best first book by an historian of technology. Jacob gave his virtual acceptance speech on 13 July, at a joint meeting of ICOHTEC and SHOT, the Society for the History of Technology, in Viña del Mar, Chile.
Visions of a Digital Nation is an open access book about why the privatization of British Telecom signalled a pivotal moment in the rise of neoliberalism, and how it was shaped by the longer development and digitalization of Britain's telecommunications infrastructure.
Jacob Ward is Assistant Professor.