‘NUCLEAR FUN: BANALIZATION OF NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGIES THROUGH DISPLAY’ (ICOHTEC, PORTO, 26-30 JULY 2016)
Dear colleagues,
We are preparing a symposium proposal for the next ICOHTEC
congress (Porto, 26-30
July 2016:
http://www.icohtec.org/annual-
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: jva@fct.unl.pt and jsastrejuan@fc.ul.pt.
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-
&
Jaume
Valentines-Álvarez (Centro Interuniversitário de História da
Ciência e da
Tecnologia -
Universidade Nova de Lisboa
/ http://ciuhct.org/en/jaume-
*
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?