Nuclear Weapons, JINS 315, and the New Mexico Road Trip

Spring 2010

Peter Rolnick, instructor

For Spring 2010, Nuclear Weapons is part of a cluster consisting of a Road Trip to New Mexico during Spring Break, Southwest Literature (ENG 418, taught by Professor Monica Barron), any level Spanish class, and Nuclear Weapons (JINS 315). A core of the same 20 students will take Southwest Literature and Nuclear Weapons.  Because of this, there will be some overlap between Southwest Literature and Nuclear Weapons. (These 20 students will not all be in the same Spanish class, because they are not all going to be at the same level.) This will be an unusual experience--something altogether different in scope from the standard offerings.

Students interested in signing up for this "package" of three courses and a Road Trip should contact Professor Barron (mbarron@truman.edu). She will arrange for your registration in both Nuclear Weapons and Southwest Literature. You will register for the appropriate Spanish course. The Road Trip will cost approximately $650 per student.

It is possible, though not likely, that the Road Trip will not fill, in which case Nuclear Weapons will revert to a regular JINS course. Students interested in taking Nuclear Weapons without doing the full cluster may contact me (prolnick@truman.edu) and I will put you on a waiting list. Only students taking the full cluster will be allowed to register until the last day of Fall semester classes. If you are on the waiting list, I will contact you at that time and let you know whether or not there is still room in the course. (If you are not doing the full cluster but still wish to take this course you should play it safe and make sure you have an alternate plan--just in case the course fills with people doing the full cluster.)

For those of you wondering what Nuclear Weapons have to do with Southwest Literature and New Mexico: The first nuclear weapons were "born" in New Mexico, and have had a profound and lasting impact on the many cultures that call New Mexico home. You can't really study nuclear weapons without learning about New Mexico, and you can't really study New Mexico without learning about nuclear weapons!

Below, I have included a description of my Nuclear Weapons course, and a link to a website describing the Road Trip in more detail.

Nuclear Weapons, JINS 315

The first nuclear bomb was developed during the Second World War in response to the fear that Hitler would develop just such a weapon. The recognition that a nuclear bomb could actually be created, and the bomb's development, is a most interesting chapter in the history of physics. Though Hitler never came close to developing a nuclear weapon, the United States ended up using one to kill 100,000 Japanese in an instant. There are now thousands of nuclear weapons scattered around the world; elements such as plutonium are now in our ecosphere that were not there prior to that first nuclear explosion in New Mexico 1945.

How and why did this all happen? How are nuclear weapons so different from previous weapons? How has the presence of nuclear weapons shaped our culture? What are our choices for the future? Using the disciplines of physics, history, and any other approach to knowledge that you would like to use (ethics, political science, art, literature, culture studies...), and through writing and discussion, we will attempt to answer these and other questions.

Note that, though we will certainly discuss physics in this class, it will be at a level suitable for those who do not have a strong science background--there are no prerequisites for this course.

The primary text for the course will be The Bomb: A Life, by Gerard J. DeGroot. 

If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me (prolnick@truman.edu) or Professor Barron (mbarron@truman.edu).

For more information about the road trip, go to http://air.truman.edu/roadtrip/?page_id=8.