“Automatic Athens provides an ingenious account of how classical ideals were used in the development of computing technologies. As utopian fantasies continue to excuse ever-greater inequity, domination, and hubris, Kennerly reminds us that the more democracy is at risk, the greater the value of the classical legacy.”

Robert Hariman, Northwestern University

“In this innovative study, Kennerly tracks references to classical Athenian democracy in mid-twentieth-century writings about technology and casts a fascinating light on ideas about labor and leisure, democracy and enslavement, the human and the machine. Anyone interested in the intersections of technology and liberal education today will find this book essential.”

Susan C. Jarratt, University of California, Irvine

“Kennerly offers a masterful tour through the many ways that ancient Athens has been invoked as a model for addressing the effects of technology in democratic culture. Her deft and lively readings provide vital resources for our democracy, struggling under oligarchic pressure. Meticulous and provocative, learned and accessible, committed to the history of ideas and also to contemporary relevance, Automated Athens is an essential text.”

Robert E. Terrill, Indiana University Bloomington