From Visual Appearance to Functional Means. Prosthetics in World War I

假肢辅助设备一直用于克服身体上的限制。然而，在它们的历史上，人们最关心的是它们的视觉外观，而不是它们的功能。这个项目的论点是，在这种情况下，最终的范式转变与第一次世界大战的历史背景有关，这导致了参与战争的国家假肢生产的增加。在德国，对截肢者的专业康复被宣布为国家义务，于是发明了所谓的工作臂。这是一种新型的假肢，从那时起，它就引发了关于战争伤害以及人与技术之间关系的辩论。对于现代的身体形象来说，它代表了一个转折点，它塑造了我们对身体残疾和正常的理解，直到今天。对这段短暂但意义重大的插曲的关注承诺了对身体机械化过程的新见解。为了重建工作臂的构造、生产和使用的复杂条件，建议选择一个综合的视角来研究现代假肢的历史。这种观点应该考虑到文物的历史方面（关于科学、医学和技术），以及对残疾人身体的社会和文化历史考虑。从三个层面进行分析：第一，参考在义肢的建造、生产和使用中所获得、发展和应用的实践知识；第二，关于各种各样的行动者（骨科医生、工程师、机械师、心理机械师、专业顾问以及医疗和福利服务部门的官员），由于战争，他们在特殊的军事医院、培训学校、讲习班和委员会中形成了竞争和合作关系；第三，应特别强调那些由于军事胁迫而获得技术知识并在其社会作用方面受到规范期望的人。在项目结束时，将从1915年至1918年间开发的大量60种工作武器中选择例子并以传记的形式呈现，这些武器最恰当地描述了战争时期假肢的创新文化。通过关注假肢的个体角色和相关的话语和实践，20世纪前三分之一的科学、医学、技术和社会之间的联系应该是可见的。以人工制品和实践为导向的方法试图系统地连接分析层次，并探索战争和战后社会历史研究的新视角。

Prosthetic aids have always served to overcome physical limitations. In their history, however, it was most often about their visual appearance and not their functionality. The thesis of this project is that the eventual paradigm shift in this context has to do with the historical context of World War I, which led to an increase in the production of prosthetics in countries involved in the War. In Germany, where the professional rehabilitation of amputated men was declared a national obligation, the so-called working arm was invented. This was a new type of prosthetic which has since contributed to the debate on war injuries and the relationship between man and technology. For the modern image of the body it represents a turning point which has shaped our understanding of physical disability and normalcy to this day. The focus on this short-lived but significant episode promises new insights into the processes of the mechanization of the body. In order to reconstruct the complex conditions for construction, production and utilization of the working arms, it is suggested to choose an integrative perspective on the history of modern prosthetics. This perspective should take historical aspects (regarding science, medicine, and technology) of the artifacts as well as socio- and cultural historic considerations on the disabled body into account. The analysis is conducted on three levels: first, with reference to practical knowledge that was acquired, developed and applied in the construction, production and utilization of prosthetics; second, regarding the heterogeneous constellation of actors (orthopedists, engineers, mechanics, psycho-mechanics, professional advisers and officials in the medical and welfare services) which, due to the War, formed competitive and cooperative relationships in special military hospitals, training schools, workshops, and committees; third, special emphasis should be placed on the group of those who, as a result of military coercion, have acquired technical knowledge and were subject to normative expectations with respect to their social role.At the end of the project, examples will be chosen and presented in biographies from the large amount of 60 types of working arms that have been developed between 1915 and 1918, and which most appropriately depict the innovation culture of prosthetics in war time. By focusing on the individual role of prosthetics and related discourses and practices, the nexus between science, medicine, technology and society in the first third of the 20th century should be made visible. The artifact- and practice-oriented approach attempts to systematically connect the analytical levels and to explore a new perspective to historical studies of war and post-war societies.