02.153 TS A History of Nuclear Strategy, Design, Technology and Society
Since 1945, the world has been living under the shadow of the atomic bomb. Although atomic fission was discovered in 1938, and several nations had undertaken efforts to produce an atomic bomb during World War II, it was only with the destruction of Hiroshima that nuclear weapons burst, fully formed, onto the world stage. Introduced in combat at a time when the world system was being reshaped, nuclear weapons and nuclear power have occupied a privileged place in modern history and culture. This elective explores episodes in nuclear world history, including the international development of nuclear weapons, the arms race, fallout, and nuclear culture.
Learning Objectives
1. Identify and describe key historical events and trends that have shaped Modern Nuclear history.
2. Evaluate different agencies that shape and mold events and the implications of their actions;
3. Synthesize competing explanations in secondary literature;
4. Use appropriate evidences to support an historical argument.
Course Requirement
| Assessment | Percentage |
| WEC – Class participation | 10 |
| WEC – Oral Presentation | 20 |
| WEC – Mid-term Essay | 35 |
| WEC – Final Essay | 35 |
Course Map
Week 1: Hiroshima: Looking Forward \ Backward
Week 2: The Hell Bomb
Week 3: Nukespeak, Nukethink, and Nukeworld
Week 3 (Optional): Strategic thinking
Week 4: Atomic-Powered Communism
Week 5: China and the Bomb – Soviet aid, Chinese Design
Week 6: Fallout, Testing and Treaties
Week 8: The Genie Comes Out – Israel, India, Pakistan
Week 9: North Korea & Iran
Week 10: Taiwanese Ambition -Defection and fallout
Week 11: Doctors Frankenstein? (To AI and beyond)
Week 12: Extraordinary nuclear risks: reactor accidents Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, Fukushima
Week 13: Anti‐nuclear movement
Week 14: Considering nuclear power in Singapore