Fun and fear: The banalization of nuclear technologies through display

Jaume Sastre-Juan, Jaume Valentines-Álvarez

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

How do nuclear technologies become commonplace? How have the borders between the exceptional and the banal been drawn and redrawn over the last 70 years in order to make nuclear energy part of everyday life? This special issue analyzes the role of fun and display, broadly construed, in shaping the cultural representation and the material circulation (or non-circulation) of nuclear technologies. Four case studies, covering the United States, Great Britain, Portugal, Spain, and Ukraine from the 1950s to the 2000s, explore how specific forms of public display and playful practices of cultural production were used as means to banalize (or de-banalize) nuclear energy. This introduction addresses the main theoretical and historiographical signposts of the special issue and outlines the different ways in which the articles explore them.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2-13
Number of pages12
JournalCentaurus
Volume61
Issue number1-2(SI)
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2019

Keywords

  • banalization of nuclear technology
  • nuclear fun
  • politics of nuclear display

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