With books in development about aerial modernisms and aviation in interwar Britain, it seems as though modernist studies are taking an air-minded turn. Caren Kaplan’s Aerial Aftermaths: Wartime from Above (Duke University Press, 2018) offers a wide history of “aerostation” that will appeal to those interested in air-minded modernism as well as others working in war studies, the history of technology, visual culture, embodiment, and perception. Kaplan’s work spans a wide timeline from the “balloonomaniacs” (84) of the 18th century to our current era “of persistent yet undeclared war” (207) via drones and military surveillance. Throughout, she draws on a range of writings and perspectives that demonstrate the interdisciplinary nature of the project. The book veers between cultural geography and theory, and between “truisms” and “unruly intensities” (these phrases appear throughout). What ties the diverse sections together are “aerostation” and “aftermaths,” and this fruitful combination is what distinguishes Kaplan’s contribution to numerous fields and marks the originality of her work. While one may quibble with what Kaplan considers a “truism” and may be confused at times by the “unruly intensities,” aerostation and aftermaths remain reliable vectors and help to make clear the connections between viewing the earth from above and understanding the complexities, ideologies, and control systems operating at ground level.

中文翻译：

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书评：空中后果：战时之上

随着战时不列颠之间有关航空现代主义和航空业的书籍的发展，现代主义研究似乎正在发生空想。卡伦·卡普兰（Caren Kaplan）的空中后果：战时之上（杜克大学出版社，2018年）提供了广泛的“航空”历史，这将吸引那些对空想现代主义感兴趣的人以及从事战争研究，技术历史，视觉文化，体现和感知的其他人。卡普兰（Kaplan）的工作跨越了很宽的时间表，从18世纪的“气球狂徒”（84）到我们通过无人机和军事监视进行的“持续而未宣战的时代”（207）。在整个过程中，她采用了一系列的作品和观点来证明该项目的跨学科性质。这本书在文化地理和理论之间，在“真理”和“不合时宜”之间（这些短语贯穿始终）出现。将各个部分联系在一起的是“航空”和“后果”，”和这种卓有成效的组合使Kaplan在众多领域的贡献与众不同并标志着她作品的独创性。尽管人们可能会质疑卡普兰认为的“真理”，有时可能会因“不合规定的强度”而感到困惑，但航空运输和后果仍然是可靠的媒介，并有助于弄清从上方观察地球与理解复杂性，意识形态之间的联系。 ，以及在地面运行的控制系统。