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Dear colleagues,
We are preparing a symposium proposal for the next ICOHTEC
congress (Porto, 26-30 July 2016: http://www.icohtec.org/annual-meeting-2016.html) on the banalization of nuclear
technologies through display (see abstract below).
If you are interested
in participating in the session, please send a proposal
consisting of an abstract (250 words maximum) and a one-page cv
before January 18th
to: [log in to unmask] and [log in to unmask].
Best wishes and
apologies for cross-posting,
Jaume Sastre-Juan
(Centro Interuniversitário de História da Ciência e da
Tecnologia - Universidade de Lisboa / http://ciuhct.org/en/jaume-sastre-juan)
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NUCLEAR FUN?
BANALIZATION OF NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGIES THROUGH DISPLAY
Even though the world is
more nuclearized than ever (at least in terms of nuclear power),
the public debate, the perception of risk and the political
contestation are substantially lower than decades ago, even
after Fukushima. It seems as if an increasing part of society
got used, or forgot, or does not care anymore about the issue.
Many factors have contributed to this process, of course. This
panel will address one of them by exploring how have heritage
policies and public display of nuclear technologies contributed
to it.
Many times, the politics
of nuclear display have historically had less to do with the awe
of technological sublime than with an agnotological, ludic, or
trivializing approach. An example in this regard could be
Wunderland Kalkar, in Germany, an amusement park built on the
site of a nuclear power plant, where visitors can have fun by
riding a huge carousel inside the cooling tower, decorated with
mountains and a blue sky.
This panel aims at gathering
case-studies that illuminate how have public display and
heritage policies historically been strategies for
banalization, oblivion or familiarization with dreadful and
risky technologies. The case-studies will address questions
such as: How are nuclear technologies re-signified through
display in different contexts and periods? What is the role of
fun and entertainment in nuclear displays? What is the role of
participation processes around and within exhibitions? How is
ignorance and oblivion constructed in parallel with memory?
What alternative and non-banalizing displays of nuclear
technologies are there?