IDS 101 - College Colloquium - Fall 2013, Prof. Mark Janeba
Skating on the Edge of the Unthinkable: The Nuclear Arms Race

From Hiroshima to the fall of the Berlin Wall -- and on to the current day -- the world has lived in fear of annihilation by nuclear weapons. The period saw the building of over fifty thousand nuclear weapons, thousands of bombers and missiles, fallout shelters, and a society that thought it could see the end of humans on earth. Atomic fear affected, or even drove, popular culture and world politics throughout the period. This course will study nuclear history from the Manhattan Project forward. Topics include the technology of nuclear weapons, military and political decisions that kept the arms race going, the difficulties of arms control, close calls with disaster (e.g., the Cuban Missile Crisis), and the impact on popular culture. Questions include whether nuclear weapons have prevented war, what to do about today’s nuclear arsenals, and what the past can tell us about understanding current nuclear crises in North Korea and Iran and current disarmament discussions.

The course will be divided into four main units, with a fifth topic spread throughout the term:

  1. This is the way the world ends, or What was everyone afraid of?
      Two widely read/viewed narratives about a final nuclear war.
  2. The dawn of the nuclear age
      The building of the first bomb, the decision to use it, and its effects.
  3. Strategy in a new world
      How nuclear weapons changed military planning and world politics in the 50s and 60s.
  4. Crises and the growing peace movement
      How the Cuban Missile Crisis and Able Archer unfolded, and the concurrent growth of the peace movement.
  5. "After" the cold war
      Nuclear proliferation, current events, and a possible restart of the arms race with different adversaries.
Class meetings: in Ford 201 beginning during opening days as scheduled by the Opening Days program, then continuing TTh 12:50-2:20, ending the week before Thanksgiving break.

Contacting Prof. Janeba:

Office Ford 216, for office hours see my website
Phone 503-370-6123    Email  mjaneba@willamette.edu

Course goals:

Honor Code and Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is the copying or paraphrasing of any work from another source without proper written acknowledgement.  Written assignments must acknowledge in writing the sources used.  Cite general usage in a bibliography, cite the usage of specific ideas or passages with footnotes, endnotes, or the like.  The College of Liberal Arts catalog says "Plagiarism and cheating are offenses against the integrity of the courses in which they occur and against the college community as a whole... Ignorance of what constitutes plagiarism shall not be considered a valid defense," so be sure to ask your instructors if you are unsure what requires citation.  We will discuss this further when you are working on the paper assignments for this class.  For further information about the Willamette University academic honesty policy please refer to The Willamette Ethic and the dean's Plagiarism and Cheating website.

Accommodations for students with disabilities:

Willamette does not discriminate on the basis of disability in any of its programs, services or activities.  If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please make arrangements to meet with your instructor early in the semester to discuss them. Please request that Disability Services staff send your instructor the appropriate forms verifying your disability and specifying the accommodation you will need.

Grading

Activity
 percentage of
your grade
Discussion participation, includes assigned "preparation" homework, and a small individualized research assignment25%
Three assigned thesis papers: 20%,25%,30% respectively
 75%

Expectations Outside of Class:

Willamette's Credit Hour Policy holds that for every hour of class time there is an expectation of 2-3 hours work outside of class. Thus, for our class which meets three hours a week you should anticipate spending 8-9 hours outside of class engaged in reading & study, homework assignments, paper writing & revision, and the individualized research assignment.

Course materials:

Required texts, available in the campus bookstore:
Nevil Shute, On The Beach, Random House, ISBN 978-0-307-47399-8
Ronald Powaski, March to Armageddon, Oxford University Press, 1989, ISBN 0-1950-4411-8
John Hersey, Hiroshima, Vintage Books/Random House, 1989, ISBN 0-679-72103-7
Fred Kaplan, The Wizards of Armageddon, Stanford University Press, 1983, ISBN 978-0804718844
Sheldon Stern, The Week the World Stood Still, Stanford University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-8047-5077-7
Jonathan Schell, The Fate of the Earth, Stanford University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-8047-3702-9
Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual, 6th ed,, St. Martin's Press, 2012.

Additional resources:
Films and video (some of the films will be in the evening)
 Web/WISE resources:
Last Modified September 5, 2013.
Prof. Janeba's Home Page | Send comments or questions to: mjaneba<at>willamette.edu
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