ΦBK Video Series: "In the Moog: The History & Impact of the Synthesizer" from Trevor Pinch

On August 2-4, the 43rd Triennial Council will meet in Palm Beach, Fla. Delegates from our 280 chapters and more than 50 associations will meet with Phi Beta Kappa executives and the Senate to make decisions about the creation of new chapters and the future of the Society as a whole. But it won't be all work and no play for the delegates. They will attend fascinating lectures by former visiting scholars and experts in a variety of fields. One of this year's featured speakers will be Trevor Pinch. In this teaser video, the Cornell University professor discusses the importance of the invention of the Moog music synthesizer. A history lesson, concert, and social commentary in one, this lecture is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Trevor Pinch is a professor of science and technology studies and of sociology at Cornell University. He is best known for his contributions toward understanding the social nature of science and technology and for founding the theory of social construction of technology (SCOT). He has coauthored a series of books about science, technology, and medicine and is the founding editor of the Inside Technology series from MIT Press. He is also a contributor to the newly emerging field of "sound studies" and the editor of The Oxford Handbook of Sound Studies (Oxford University Press, 2011). His lecture will be on the invention of the music synthesizer, the subject of his book Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer (Harvard University Press, 2002).

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