Radiation Nation

Three Mile Island and the Political Transformation of the 1970s

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
Cover of the book Radiation Nation by Natasha Zaretsky, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Natasha Zaretsky ISBN: 9780231542487
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: February 13, 2018
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Natasha Zaretsky
ISBN: 9780231542487
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: February 13, 2018
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

On March 28, 1979, the worst nuclear reactor accident in U.S. history occurred at the Three Mile Island power plant in Central Pennsylvania. Radiation Nation tells the story of what happened that day and in the months and years that followed, as local residents tried to make sense of the emergency. The near-meltdown occurred at a pivotal moment when the New Deal coalition was unraveling, trust in government was eroding, conservatives were consolidating their power, and the political left was becoming marginalized. Using the accident to explore this turning point, Natasha Zaretsky provides a fresh interpretation of the era by disclosing how atomic and ecological imaginaries shaped the conservative ascendancy.

Drawing on the testimony of the men and women who lived in the shadow of the reactor, Radiation Nation shows that the region's citizens, especially its mothers, grew convinced that they had sustained radiological injuries that threatened their reproductive futures. Taking inspiration from the antiwar, environmental, and feminist movements, women at Three Mile Island crafted a homegrown ecological politics that wove together concerns over radiological threats to the body, the struggle over abortion and reproductive rights, and eroding trust in authority. This politics was shaped above all by what Zaretsky calls "biotic nationalism," a new body-centered nationalism that imagined the nation as a living, mortal being and portrayed sickened Americans as evidence of betrayal. The first cultural history of the accident, Radiation Nation reveals the surprising ecological dimensions of post-Vietnam conservatism while showing how growing anxieties surrounding bodily illness infused the political realignment of the 1970s in ways that blurred any easy distinction between left and right.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

On March 28, 1979, the worst nuclear reactor accident in U.S. history occurred at the Three Mile Island power plant in Central Pennsylvania. Radiation Nation tells the story of what happened that day and in the months and years that followed, as local residents tried to make sense of the emergency. The near-meltdown occurred at a pivotal moment when the New Deal coalition was unraveling, trust in government was eroding, conservatives were consolidating their power, and the political left was becoming marginalized. Using the accident to explore this turning point, Natasha Zaretsky provides a fresh interpretation of the era by disclosing how atomic and ecological imaginaries shaped the conservative ascendancy.

Drawing on the testimony of the men and women who lived in the shadow of the reactor, Radiation Nation shows that the region's citizens, especially its mothers, grew convinced that they had sustained radiological injuries that threatened their reproductive futures. Taking inspiration from the antiwar, environmental, and feminist movements, women at Three Mile Island crafted a homegrown ecological politics that wove together concerns over radiological threats to the body, the struggle over abortion and reproductive rights, and eroding trust in authority. This politics was shaped above all by what Zaretsky calls "biotic nationalism," a new body-centered nationalism that imagined the nation as a living, mortal being and portrayed sickened Americans as evidence of betrayal. The first cultural history of the accident, Radiation Nation reveals the surprising ecological dimensions of post-Vietnam conservatism while showing how growing anxieties surrounding bodily illness infused the political realignment of the 1970s in ways that blurred any easy distinction between left and right.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book The Arab Uprisings Explained by Natasha Zaretsky
Cover of the book The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks by Natasha Zaretsky
Cover of the book The Subject of Torture by Natasha Zaretsky
Cover of the book Extreme Domesticity by Natasha Zaretsky
Cover of the book The Columbia Guide to the Vietnam War by Natasha Zaretsky
Cover of the book The Question of the Animal and Religion by Natasha Zaretsky
Cover of the book Islam by Natasha Zaretsky
Cover of the book Factory of Strategy by Natasha Zaretsky
Cover of the book Randall Jarrell and His Age by Natasha Zaretsky
Cover of the book Knowledge, Power, and Academic Freedom by Natasha Zaretsky
Cover of the book Roberto Bolaño's Fiction by Natasha Zaretsky
Cover of the book The Sociocultural Turn in Psychology by Natasha Zaretsky
Cover of the book Opening NATO's Door by Natasha Zaretsky
Cover of the book Postcolonial Theory by Natasha Zaretsky
Cover of the book The Art of Making Magazines by Natasha Zaretsky
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy