BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//Columba Systems Ltd//NONSGML CPNG/SpringViewer/ICal Output/3.3- M3//EN VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20140502T131915Z DTSTART:20140506T120000Z DTEND:20140506T130000Z SUMMARY:Making Siemens work for England: negotiating a place for the firm in the nineteenth century UID:{http://www.columbasystems.com/customers/uom/gpp/eventid/}bef-hr7ukk3 u-jkfoad DESCRIPTION:This seminar is part of the CHSTM Lunchtime Seminar Series\, which is held weekly (during term time). \nPlease find the abstract bel ow.\nAll are welcome.\nFor further information please contact stuart.but ler@manchester.ac.uk \n \n \n\n\nMaking Siemens work for England: negotia ting a place for the firm in the nineteenth century: \nDur ing the nineteenth century\, the British company Siemens expanded signif icantly (although it retained significant ties to its German parent). By 1914 it had two factories in London and one in Stafford\, as well as se veral sales offices in the rest of the country. It manufactured and inst alled telegraph cables and supplied electrical-system components such as dynamos to a variety of public and private customers\, including the st ate. In examining the uptake of electricity\, many other studies have fo cussed upon particular systems\, such as lighting\, or upon the experien ces of capital cities and elite\, early users of electricity. As a provi der of infrastructural elements\, Siemens presents an opportunity to foc us on the wider spread of infrastructures during this period. Considerin g how Siemens became established in Britain adds to our understanding of how businesses operated in the nineteenth century and to the nature of interactions between the development of infrastructure\, industry\, and the British state. This paper shows how Siemens became embedded as a Bri tish company serving the nation through integration into networks of peo ple and production. Industry\, the state\, and the military were also si gnificant Siemens customers and played a large role in the development o f these systems. An examination of Siemens shows that technologies were not limited to the capital and large cities\, nor was uptake and experim entation limited to elite users and public displays and exhibitions. The First World War throws into relief the extent of Siemens embeddedness w ithin Britain. Debates about the operation of the firm as one with hybri d\, German-British elements show that concerns about German connections were over-ruled by acknowledgement of its central place in British indus try and war production.\n \n STATUS:TENTATIVE TRANSP:TRANSPARENT CLASS:PUBLIC LOCATION:2.57\, Simon Building\, Manchester END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR