STS 224
Going Nuclear: American Culture in the Atomic Age Fall 2024
Division II
Cross-listed HIST 273 / SOC 224

This course will examine the historical development and use of the nuclear bomb. Among other features of the early atomic age, the course will look at the Manhattan Project, the delivery of the bombs for combat, the destructive effects of the bomb’s initial use in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the ongoing testing of nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands after WWII. The class will investigate the role of the nuclear arms race in the Cold War, the consequences of nuclear production on specific communities, and the implications of the atomic age on our critical understanding of technological innovation more generally. We will also consider the saliency of competing narratives interpreting America’s decision (and continuing policies) to build, use, and stockpile nuclear weapons. Employing both sociological and historical perspectives, we will explore the interactions between science, politics, and culture in the nuclear age.