Universität Wien

090123 UE Greek Nuclear Science and the Cold War (2015W)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 9 - Altertumswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 30 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Friday 09.10. 13:00 - 14:30 (Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postg. 7/1/3 3.Stock)
  • Friday 16.10. 13:00 - 14:30 (Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postg. 7/1/3 3.Stock)
  • Friday 23.10. 13:00 - 14:30 (Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postg. 7/1/3 3.Stock)
  • Friday 30.10. 13:00 - 14:30 (Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postg. 7/1/3 3.Stock)
  • Friday 06.11. 13:00 - 14:30 (Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postg. 7/1/3 3.Stock)
  • Friday 13.11. 13:00 - 14:30 (Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postg. 7/1/3 3.Stock)
  • Friday 20.11. 13:00 - 14:30 (Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postg. 7/1/3 3.Stock)
  • Friday 27.11. 13:00 - 14:30 (Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postg. 7/1/3 3.Stock)
  • Friday 04.12. 13:00 - 14:30 (Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postg. 7/1/3 3.Stock)
  • Friday 11.12. 13:00 - 14:30 (Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postg. 7/1/3 3.Stock)
  • Friday 18.12. 13:00 - 14:30 (Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postg. 7/1/3 3.Stock)
  • Friday 08.01. 13:00 - 14:30 (Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postg. 7/1/3 3.Stock)
  • Friday 15.01. 13:00 - 14:30 (Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postg. 7/1/3 3.Stock)
  • Friday 22.01. 13:00 - 14:30 (Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postg. 7/1/3 3.Stock)
  • Friday 29.01. 13:00 - 14:30 (Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postg. 7/1/3 3.Stock)

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
How scientific knowledge has been related to politics during the Cold War era in a State
that struggled to survive after WWII? What has nuclear science to do with Queen Frederika of Greece? Who were the ones that sponsored and supported the nuclear research in the
country? How were the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the US
Administration related to the country’s atomic program? After all, how big was "big
science" in Greece? This course is built around the dominant image of science as a big
enterprise that haunts the Cold War era, an era of unprecedented political stakes for
scientific research. We begin by exploring the concept of bigness in science and aim to
reveal the interplay of science and politics during the second part of the 20th century. Our
main focus, however, is specifically on the history of nuclear science in Greece.

Assessment and permitted materials

The course requirements will be adjusted to the level of the students (undergraduates or graduates). Since it is offered as an Übung it requires a presentation and a short written essay. Details will be discussed in class.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

The course aims to familiarize students with the history of Cold War in Greece and the impact of nuclear science on the national politics. We will analyze what big meant-in terms of scientific research and political powers involved-in the case of the Greek atomic program during the Cold War and how this program has been affected by the IAEA.

Examination topics

This course proposes an unconventional way to approach the history of nuclear science
in Greece. It places emphasis on the material culture of science and uses objects-scientific
or not-as introductory points to our survey. For example, it speaks about the Cold War
history through the image of a typical American kitchen to remind us the known debate
that took place between Nikita Khrushchev and Richard Nixon at the Moscow World
Exhibition in 1959. Through the picture of Queen Frederika in the Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory in the 1960s, we explore the multiple ways that monarchy defined
nuclear research in Greece. The picture of Greek female technicians working on scanning
tables gives us the Greek version of big science. Each of these objects-the kitchen, the
laboratory, the instrument-tells an important story and connects the ordinary to scientific
knowledge.

Reading list

There will be a course reader available for the students. Some of the materials included are
also available on the web. Giving special attention to historical sources the course will combine readings in history of science with primary sources such as newspaper clippings and historical objects. Also there will be opportunities to work with on line sources such as museum exhibitions and collections. The course includes a visit to the International Atomic Energy Agency Archives at UNO city in Vienna.

Indicative bibliography:
Galison, Peter. 1992. "Introduction: The Many Faces of Big Science" in Galison, Peter and Hevly Bruce Big Science: The Growth of Large-Scale Research. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Hecht, Gabriele. 2006. "Negotiating Global Nuclearities" Osiris, 21: 25-48.

Light, Jeniffer. 1999 "When Computers Were Women" Technology and Culture
40(3): 455-483

Mazower, Mark. 2002. "The Cold War and the Appropriation of Memory: Greece after Liberation" in Deak. I. and Gross. J. Political Justice and Retribution in Postwar Europe, Princeton Un. Press.

Newspaper clipping: Safire, William. 2009. "The Cold’s War Hot Kitchen" The New
York Times, July 24, 2009

Rentetzi, Maria. 2009. Reactor is Critical: Introducing Nuclear Research in Postwar
Greece Archives Internationales d' Histoire des Sciences, 60, no164 (2010):137-154.

Rentetzi, Maria. "Gender, Science, and Politics: Queen Frederika and Nuclear Science in Postwar Greece" Centaurus, 51 (2009):63-87.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Tu 31.05.2022 00:18