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Science, politics, and advertising in the mid-twentieth century : Pan American Airways Forum of the future pamphlet / author, Chris Manias (King's College London, UK).
- Format:
- Website/Database
- Author/Creator:
- Manias, Chris, author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Research.
- Methodology.
- Genre:
- Case studies.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource
- Place of Publication:
- Marlborough, Wiltshire : Adam Matthew Digital, 2021.
- Summary:
- This case study investigates how we can examine science as a theme in modern history through primary sources. We will focus on the pamphlet Forum of the Future, compiled by Pan American World Airways and published in 1944. This is a selection of commissioned think pieces by politicians and intellectuals, reflecting on what sort of world should be built after the end of the Second World War. Through looking at these contributions, we will think about how we can analyze texts engaging with science, and the ideological and cultural role of "science" in the modern period. We will think about who has the authority to speak for science, and why science has been regarded not just as an elite pursuit but crucial across the whole of society. Far from simply being an esoteric and specialist set of fields, we will think about how science has been deeply connected with large historical themes around politics, conflict, commerce, and the environment. We will particularly examine the dual face of science in the modern world and how we can interrogate this through primary source analysis. On the one hand, science has been a source of optimism around "progress" and material improvement. However, we will also get behind the text to think about more ambiguous issues, around how historical actors thought science should relate to spiritual and moral values, and how science-as well as being a subject of hope and optimism-could also be a source of threat and danger.
- Notes:
- Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on August 17, 2022).
- Publisher Number:
- 10.47594/RMPS_0155
- Access Restriction:
- Restricted for use by site license.
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