AH
385
Seminar
in
Art
History
Visual Representations and the Nuclear Experience
COURSE
OVERVIEW
"This
course
investigates
the
nuclear
era
from
the
perspective
of
its
global
visual
representation
viewed
through
an
interdisciplinary
lens.
From
the
initial
testing
of
an
atomic
device
in
the
New
Mexico
desert
in
July
1945
to
the
Fukushima
Daiichi
nuclear
accident
of
2011,
there
exists
a
vast
archive
of
visual
material
testifying
to
this
unprecedented
period
in
world
history.
Since
the
dawn
of
the
era,
diverse
forms
of
visual
communication
have
shaped
this
nuclear
archive.
Photography,
motion
picture,
video
games,
animation,
drawing,
painting,
even
sculpture
and
conceptual
art
have
all
contributed
in
their
own
ways
to
the
growth
of
nuclear
iconography.
Two
complimentary
frames
of
reference
further
enrich
and
diversify
this
growing
archive:
on
the
one
hand,
pictorial
depictions
of
the
nuclear
landscape
and,
on
the
other
hand,
visual
evidence
of
the
impact
of
nuclear
technology
and
radiation
upon
human
beings.
Furthermore,
the
heterogeneous
nature
of
nuclear
imagery
reflects
a
broad
range
of
intentions
informing
the
work
of
its
producers,
which
include
scientists,
military
personnel,
governmental
agencies,
medical
officers,
eyewitnesses,
survivors,
downwinders,
journalists,
historians,
environmentalists,
filmmakers,
and
artists
of
all
stripes.
2
Approaching
this
visual
material
from
a
global,
multicultural
lens
receptive
to
all
points
of
view
(e.g.
victor
and
vanquished,
allies
and
foes,
propagandists
and
detractors),
this
course
provides
ample
opportunities
for
research,
reflection,
and
critical
debate.
The
explored
topics
include
the
development
of
the
Manhattan
Project,
the
military
use
and
medical
effects
of
the
atomic
bomb
in
Japan,
the
memorialization
of
the
atomic
experience,
the
testing
of
atomic
and
hydrogen
devices
by
nuclear
nations
throughout
the
Cold
War,
the
hazards
of
radioactive
fallout
upon
downwinders,
the
international
proliferation
of
nuclear
arsenal,
the
infamous
accidents
at
Three
Mile
Island,
Chernobyl,
and
Fukushima,
along
with
the
diverse
responses
of
postwar
and
contemporary
artists
to
the
atomic
age,
its
implications,
ideologies,
iconic
images,
and
continuing
uncertainties."
-Claude Baillargeon
Associate Professor, Department of Art and Art History
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