Making ’Silicon Valley’: Culture, Representation, and Technology at The Tech Museum
Author(s)
Perrin, Andrew J.
Abstract
There has been much discussion of Silicon Valley, the area south of San Francisco that is home to many high-technology firms. This article explores the cultural discourse of Silicon Valley, paying particular attention to the newly-opened Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose and the strategies of commemoration, identity construction, and exhibition it uses to mirror, focus, and construct a Silicon Valley culture. The Tech Museum successfully captures the dominant ideological elements of Silicon Valley, combining celebration of technology with a fascination with what the museum’s literature refers to as the ‘gizmos and gadgets’ produced by Valley companies. ‘The Tech’ serves as a material focal point for Valley culture, but fails to provide a coherent direction or message for it.
