1st Edition
The Theatre of Nuclear Science Weapons, Power, and the Scientists Behind it All
The Theatre of Nuclear Science theoretically explores theatrical representations of nuclear science to reconsider a science that can have consequences beyond imagination.
Focusing on a series of nuclear science plays that span the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and including performances of nuclear science in museums, film, and media, Jeanne Tiehen argues why theatre and its unique qualities can offer important perspectives on this imperative topic.
This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of theatre, politics, and literature.
Acknowledgements
Introduction: The Nuclear Stage
0.1 Seeing Science as a Part of Culture, Us, and I
0.2 Using Phenomenology
0.3 History in the Making
Chapter One: A Matter of Time
- Copenhagen’s Uncertainty of Time and Truth
- Time Off Stage, Time On Stage
- Exploring Nuclear Science Museums: Timelines, Space, and Place
- Conclusion: A Tense Time
Chapter Two: The Power of a Human
2.1 In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Scientist on Trial
2.2 Embodiment on Stage and of History
2.3 Reykjavik and the Negotiations for all Humankind
2.4 Conclusion: Human Perspective
Chapter Three: Doomful Disaster and Responsibility
3.1 The Children and the Question of Guilt
3.2 The Phenomenology of Doom on Stage and Ethical Responses
3.3 Illuminating Invisible Dangers and Deciding Responsibility in Chernobyl
3.4 Conclusion: Power Problems
Chapter Four: The Limits of Reason
4.1 End of the World and Logical Loopholes
4.2 The Impossible Humor of Nuclear Weapons
4.3 The Physicists and Sensible Absurdity
4.4 Conclusion: The Last Laugh
Chapter Five: Future Imaginings
5.1 Possibilities on Stage: Three Plays that Look Ahead
5.2 Visions of the Future on Stage
5.3 Conclusion: Tethered to the Future
Conclusion: An Ending Untold
Index
Biography
Dr. Jeanne Tiehen is Assistant Professor of Theatre at Susquehanna University, Pennsylvania, USA.
