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Alex Roland

Professor Emeritus of History
History
Box 90719, Durham, NC 27708-0719
226 Classroom Bldg, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


I study military history and the history of technology. My focus has ranged over all of Western experience, and I have recently converted my undergraduate course in military history to a comparative world military history course. I have written about chariots in the second millennium B.C., Greek fire in medieval Byzantium, and computers and aerospace technology in the twentieth century. While I study the history of technology in general, I also focus on the ways in which technology has shaped war and war has altered technology.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor Emeritus of History · 2010 - Present History, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

In the News


Published January 24, 2023
Challenger, Columbia Tragedies A Reminder Not to Send Humans to Space, Says Former NASA Historian
Published July 15, 2019
Apollo 11 Was An Extraordinary Accomplishment Worthy of Celebration. Let's Not Repeat It
Published February 4, 2016
Mars: The Impossible Dream

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Recent Publications


Da Vinci Medal Address: A Centrifugal Maelstrom?

Journal Article Technology and culture · January 2024 This revision of the da Vinci Medal Address, delivered at SHOT's annual meeting in Los Angeles on October 28, 2023, presents two valedictories. The first reviews fifty years in SHOT studying and teaching the history of technology and warfare. It argues tha ... Full text Cite

Delta of Power The Military-Industrial Complex

Book · August 10, 2021 "The book covers the Cold War origins of the military-industrial complex and explains its current relevance since the 9/11 terrorist attacks"-- ... Cite

Is military technology deterministic?

Journal Article Vulcan · January 1, 2020 In their papers prepared for this volume, Kelly DeVries and David Zimmerman explore the differing viewpoints on technological determinism that military historians bring to bear on premodern and modern warfare. This paper analyzes their respective arguments ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


SRG: Robert Fulton: Between Art and Engineering

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2010 - 2011

Doctoral Dissertation Research: Office Automation and the Construction of Computerization as Productivity in Britain, 1945 to 1975

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2006 - 2007

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Education, Training & Certifications


Duke University · 1974 Ph.D.
University of Hawaii, Manoa · 1970 M.A.
United States Naval Academy · 1966 B.S.