Conclusion

Through the examination of the various Omeka assignments and blog posts, one broad theme that can be traced is the complexity of the consequences of industrialization and technology because on one hand, they trigger economic growth and greater efficiency, but on the other hand, they can instigate greater inequality and cause existential crises as people, consumed by technology, question their roles within such an automated society as their individuality is threatened by machines that can perform so many tasks and their jobs are geared toward serving these massive entities. In the context of contemporary society, globalization is a force that magnifies these struggles with identity because tradition cultures are becoming increasingly influenced by foreign factors as the world, in some ways, become more similar yet less equal. This theme is still as relevant as ever today, with the increasingly ubiquitous technology in the form of social media and smart phones shaping society in profound and irrevocable ways. Even our class is a prime example of the increasingly dominant role of technology, as simple, written essays are replaced by blog posts and Omeka assignments that feature other components besides text and connect to external sources that provide more color and depth to the text. But perhaps technology has always been here since the start, for the first fire ever lit by humans can be interpreted as the first piece of technology.