The future of nuclear waste : what art and archaeology can tell us about securing the world's most hazardous material / Rosemary A. Joyce.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Joyce, Rosemary A., 1956- author.

Contributor:

UPSO (University Press Scholarship Online)

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Series:

Oxford studies in the archaeology of ancient states

OXFORD STUDIES IN THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF ANCIENT STATES.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Radioactive waste disposal--Social aspects--United States.

Radioactive waste disposal.

Symbolic anthropology.

Semiotics and archaeology.

Historical markers--Design.

Historical markers.

Design.

Radioactive waste disposal--Social aspects.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxiii, 274 pages) : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2020]

System Details:

text file

Summary:

How can nations ensure that buried nuclear waste goes undisturbed for thousands of years? The United States government tried to solve this problem with the help of experts they identified in communication, materials science, and futurism. From the perspective of a contemporary archaeologist, The Future of Nuclear Waste looks at what these experts suggested, and what the government endorsed: designs for a modern monument, an artificial ruin, a purpose-built archaeological site that would escape future exploration. One design, selected for development, argued that because specific archaeological sites and objects (among them Stonehenge, Serpent Mound, the Rosetta Stone, and rock art) made long ago have endured and are seen as significant today, contemporary engineers could build monuments that would be equally effective in conveying messages that last even longer. An alternative proposal, which government planners set aside, was rooted in the idea that universal archetypes of design arouse similar human emotions in all times and places. Both proposals used common sense, assuming that human reactions and understandings are relatively predictable. Employing an anthropology of common sense, Rosemary Joyce explores why people chosen for their expertise relied on generalizations contradicted by the actual history of preservation and interpretation of archaeological sites and the closest analogues to archetype-based designs, which are the large scale installations produced in the Land Art movement. The book reveals the underlying imagination shared by the experts, government planners, and artists, in which the American West is an empty space available for projects like these. It counters this with the dissenting voices of indigenous scholars and activists who document the presence on these nuclear landscapes of Native American people. The result is an eye-opening and unique demonstration of how a deep understanding of the remote past informs critical debates about the present.

Contents:

List of Figures

List of Tables

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1: Stonehenge in Nevada

Interlude 1: Forbidding Blocks

Chapter 2: Serpent Mound

Interlude 2: Menacing Earthworks

Chapter 3: Rosetta Stones and Cuneiform Tablets

Interlude 3: Spikes Bursting through Grid

Chapter 4: Indelible Messages from Newgrange to Kakadu Park

Interlude 4: Australian Art in Nuclear Landscapes

Chapter 5: Enduring Meaning

Interlude 5: Blue Yucca Ridge

Conclusion: Stories about Endings

References Cited

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Electronic reproduction. Oxford Available via World Wide Web.

Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on April 10, 2020).

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Other Format:

Print version: Joyce, Rosemary A., 1956- The future of nuclear waste

ISBN:

9780190888176

0190888172

0190888164

9780190888152

0190888156

9780190888169

Publisher Number:

99986973979

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.