History Peeps: Dr. Jonathan Coopersmith, Professor of History
Technology and history may seem like opposites to many people, but not here at Texas A&M. The History Department is fortunate to have Dr. Jonathan Coopersmith, who explores the long history of technology, including both its successes and failures, and how technology has shaped the human experience across national boundaries. His jubilance and creativity have taken him across centuries of study and around the world. FAXED: The Rise and Fall of the Fax Machine, his book on the global phenomenon of the fax machine, took him to France, Russia, England, Germany, and Italy. He even spent a whole year on a Fulbright Fellowship in Tokyo, Japan.
Many students pursue study abroad, but for professors it’s a bit different. Not only did Dr. Coopersmith move to Japan in 2008, but so did his wife and two children, then ages 9 and 12. Before going, Dr. Coopersmith returned to school himself to study Japanese at A&M. While he picked up enough to get by, his children were far more successful at learning the language. The research he did in Tokyo shaped FAXED, and the time abroad shaped all of the Coopersmiths. Recently, he helped create a study abroad program to take A&M undergraduates to Japan to study the History of Technology and Japanese culture.
To what historical figure would Dr. Coopersmith like to say “Howdy,” given the chance? Dr. Coopersmith has a hard time choosing between Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, and of course the inventor of the fax machine Alexander Bain. However, Thomas Jefferson wins out. Dr. Coopersmith would like to discuss the creation of the University of Virginia and Jefferson’s role as the Father of Invention in America. The A&M professor would also like to ask the former president to square the contradictions between slavery and the Declaration of Independence.