Morgan G. Ames - The Charisma Machine: The Life, Death, and Legacy of One Laptop per Child

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Morgan G. Ames, The Charisma Machine: The Life, Death, and Legacy of One Laptop per Child

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Morgan G. Ames

The MIT Press

Cambridge, Massachusetts

London, England

2019 Massachusetts Institute of Technology

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher.

This book was set in ITC Stone Serif Std and ITC Stone Sans Std by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited. Printed and bound in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Ames, Morgan G., author.

Title: The charisma machine : the life, death, and legacy of One Laptop Per Child / Morgan G. Ames.

Description: Cambridge, MA : MIT Press, [2019] | Series: Infrastructures | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018050938 | ISBN 9780262537445 (pbk. : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Laptop computers--Developing countries. | Computers and children--Developing countries.

Classification: LCC QA76.5 .A4255 2019 | DDC 004.1609724--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018050938

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For Carla

d_r0

This project has made powerfully concrete to me that intellectual development is a profoundly social process. Just as the motivations of the Paraguayan children whom I observed were influenced by their teachers, parents, and friends, my own research trajectory has been deeply influenced by many important people in my life. Indeed, at times it seems strange that research projects have ownership when we all owe so much to our intellectual communities.

First and foremost, I thank my graduate advisor, Fred Turner, for his intellectual guidance. Though our topics, methods, and even writing habits may differ, I have learned so much from him about how to navigate the halls of academe and to produce rigorous, intellectually honest, and (hopefully) insightful researchand work that reflects my own passions. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for this intellectual and social guidance. My committee has also helped me along this path: Cliff Nass, Jeremy Bailenson, Tanya Luhrmann, and John Willinsky. I especially honor the memory of Cliff, who in many ways was like a second advisor. He hooded me in place of Fred in June 2013 and was always available to provide ever-upbeat and ever-insightful feedback. We miss you, Cliff.

Just as important to this research are my colleagues and participants in Paraguay. My fieldwork there was one of the most challenging and enlightening experiences of my life. The gracious hospitality and support of the employees of Paraguay Educa, especially Pacita, enabled my fieldwork. I also owe so much to my research assistant, Liliana, who not only came along to many of the house visits and interviews to help me with my nonexistent Guaran but scheduled and transcribed many of my interviews, and moreover welcomed me into her home as if I were a member of her family. Her superb local knowledge and many friends made my fieldwork so much easier. I want to thank all of the teachers, students, parents, and others for allowing me to shadow their experiences and for patiently answering my many questions. Geeking out with Bernie, Sebastin, Martn, and the technical team gave me a welcome respite during my time in Paraguay. Bernie also provided a welcome counterpoint to my observations and theories in Paraguay and beyond. I honor the memory of Carla, who was not only my host but my friend. When cancer took her from us much, much too early, it took one of the brightest and most passionate advocates for Paraguayan children.

The lions share of day-to-day support came from my cowriters over the years: ShinJoung Yeo, Daniela Rosner, Lilly Irani, Megan Finn, Lilly Nguyen, Tricia Wang, Lauren Schmidt, Christine Larson, Anita Varma, John Alanz, Mark Gardiner, and more. These incredible scholars joined me to write in cafs and libraries all over the San Francisco Bay Area, and most also offered generous feedback on chapter drafts along the way. I have come to learn that I love to write socially, and this group has seen me through. Equally important was the generous community of scholars who offered feedback on chapters throughout the writing process. The dissertation on which this book is based was honed with the help of the Stanford Humanities Center dissertation writing group, convened by Katja Zelljadt. The two years I spent in this talented, interdisciplinary group gave me countless ideas for how to both broaden my work to appeal to more audiences and deepen it to make it more theoretically impactful. More recently, I have bent the ear of insightful colleagues including Joseph Klett, Matt Rafalow, Amber Levinson, Alicia Blum-Ross, Antero Garcia, Jenna Burrell, Damien Droney, Anne Jonas, Richmond Wong, Noura Howell, Christoph Derndorfer, and Nick Merrill, who all provided constructive feedback on (in many cases) multiple chapters. Finally, Laura Portwood-Stacer of Manuscript Works helped me reframe an early draft, Georgia Saltsman and Charlotte Nix helped me proof the near-final draft, and anonymous reviewers gave me invaluable feedback in between, guided by the encouraging editorial leadership of Katie Helke at the MIT Press.