ATOMIC POWER IN AMERICAN HISTORY
History 6394
Spring, 2006
Monday, 5:30-9:00 pm
Dr. Martin Melosi
Office: 556AH Phone: 743-3090
Hours: By appointment Email: mmelosi@uh.edu
The primary goal of this course is to understand the impact of an extraordinary and revolutionary technology on the United States in particular and the world in general. We will explore the emergence of military and peaceful uses of atomic power as a prism through which to better understand the scientific, environmental, diplomatic, institutional, social, and cultural history of the United States since 1939.
Class sessions normally will be a combination of discussion of common readings and viewing/critiquing documentary and commercial films about topics related to atomic energy. The extensive use of film is meant to complement the readings and discussion, and to provide visual evidence that either reflects contemporary perspectives on atomic power and related issues or promotes a particular point of view relevant to the topic of class discussion for that week. There are hundreds of films that make allusion to atomic power or atomic weapons, so we will be viewing a very small sampling. In most cases, some written material about the films will be provided in advance of the viewings in order to help direct our discussions.
Participation in class discussions about the readings and the films will be essential. Each graduate student also will prepare five reviews, a research paper, and a brief annotated bibliography to distribute in class.
Required Readings:
Gregg Herken, Brotherhood of the Bomb (2002)
Ronald Takaki, Hiroshima(1995)
Paul Boyer, By the Bomb’s Early Light (1994)
Richard Rhodes, Dark Sun (1995)
Priscilla McMillan, Ruin of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2005)
Graham Allison and Philip Zelikow, Essence of Decision (1999)
Brian Balogh, Chain Reaction (1993)
Thomas Wellock, Critical Masses (1998)
J. Samuel Walker, Three Mile Island (2005)
Kristin Shrader-Frechette, Burying Uncertainty (1995)
Ronald Powaski, Return to Armageddon (2000)
Weekly Sessions:
January 23: Introduction
Film: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
January 30: Splitting the Atom: Origins of a New Science
Film: Copenhagen (2002)
Readings: Selected Articles
February 6: The Manhattan Project: Science, Government, and War
Film: Day One (1989)
Readings: Herken, Brotherhood of the Bomb
February 13: The Decision to Drop the Bomb: Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Film: Hiroshima-Nagasaki--August, 1945 The Atom Strikes (1945)
Readings: Takaki, Hiroshima
February 20: The Birth of the Nuclear Age: Postwar Responses
Film: Atomic Café (1982)
Readings: Boyer, By the Bomb’s Early Light
February 27: Fear of Fallout and the H-Bomb
Film: Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
Readings: Rhodes, Dark Sun
March 6: The Cold War, Espionage, and the Bomb
Film: Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Readings: McMillan, Ruin of J. Robert Oppenheimer
March 13: SPRING BREAK
March 20: Nuclear Weapons and the Arms Race
Film: Thirteen Days (2001)
Readings: Allison and Philip Zelikow, Essence of Decision
March 27: Arms Race II: National Security, Disarmament, and Nuclear Proliferation
Film: Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Readings: Powaski, Return to Armageddon
April 3: The AEC and Commercial Nuclear Power
Film: China Syndrome (1979)
Readings: Balogh, Chain Reaction
April 10: Radiation, the Anti-Nuclear Movement, and Reactor Safety
Film: Silkwood (1983)
Readings: Wellock, Critical Masses
April 17: Nuclear Accidents: Browns Ferry, Three Mile Island, and Chernobyl
Film: Meltdown at Three Mile Island (1999) & Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster (1986)
Readings: Walker, Three Mile Island
April 24: Enduring Testament: Disposing of Radioactive Waste
Film: The World, the Flesh, and the Devil (1959)
Readings: Shrader-Frechette, Burying Uncertainty
May 1: Terrorism and the Nuclear Future
Film: The Sum of All Fears (2002)
Readings: Selected Articles
Assignments:
Students are required to write:
(a) Five (5) critical book/film reviews (at least two book reviews) on material not included in the common readings nor among the films shown in class. Each review should be 1,250 to 1,500 words.
Due Dates: January 30: Turn in list of books/films for review (include six or seven so I can suggest the best ones)
February 6: First review due
February 20: Second review due
March 6: Third review due
March 27: Fourth review due
April 10: Fifth review due
(b) A research paper/bibliographic essay of about 5,000 to 6,000 words (20 to 25 pages) on a topic relevant to the themes of the course. I will give you wide latitude to prepare as creative a paper as you can.
Due Date: April 24 (I will return the paper to you on May 1, and you can provide me with a revised version during a day specified during Finals Week to be announced.)
(c) Each graduate student will prepare an annotated bibliography to be handed out in class. The bibliography (of ten books) should focus on a topic relevant to one of the themes of the session. In the annotations, the student should discuss the basic theme and interpretation of each book in two or three sentences per book.
Grades:
Grades will be based on the following:
Class participation: 20%
Reviews: 30%
Research Paper: 35%
Annotated Bibliography: 15%
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