STS 3031 - [Making Things Nuclear]

(SBA-AS) (CU-SBY)

Spring. Not offered 2017-2018. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

R. Slayton.

Today, nuclear things connote power and perils to nations and people around the world. We will examine the changing reasons that nuclear technologies—the artifacts, experts, and codified knowledge associated with radioactive substances—have been coveted and controlled, with special attention to medical, military, and environmental applications. By examining the changing nature of “nuclear” things from the 19th Century to today, we will gain a deeper understanding of how several interlinked and transnational processes—including industrialization, testing, popularization, and the making of codified and formal knowledge—produce technology’s material and political power. This seminar course is open to advanced undergraduates from diverse backgrounds; we welcome participants from science, engineering, social science, and the humanities as well as historians of science, technology, and medicine.