Reference no: EM133658758

Assignment

I. Based on evidence from the course materials, to what extent did popular culture artifacts either differ from or align with the news and editorial media's reactions to the invention of the atomic bomb and its use against Japan? In particular, how did topical songs of the early atomic age reflect the complexities of the American public's attitudes towards the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the future of humanity's relationship with "the atom"?

II. In your opinion, based on evidence from applicable course materials, did prospects for civilian applications for nuclear and radiological technologies aggravate or redirect public anxieties from fear of nuclear armageddon to a bright future of new technological possibilities? Using contemporary commentary or cultural artifacts as evidence of popular opinion, how might we gauge the public's perceptions of these technologies' feasibility and their potential for their reshaping of human society?

III. Whether understood as an indiscriminate weapon that would wipe out entire cities or as a weapon so fearful that it might bring peace by preventing any future wars, prospect of the atomic bomb was considered to be problematic in the face of Judeo-Christian morality. What were some rationales, evidenced in the course materials, for differing religious or moral attitudes towards the bomb in general and its specific use against Japan in particular? In what ways did these varying arguments, as well as the possibility of future nuclear war, shape post-WW2 religious practice and ethical attitudes?

IV. Paul Boyer cites polls reflecting public attitudes on the bombing of Japan and the development of future nuclear technologies, specifically focusing on distinct shifts in these attitudes over the latter half of the 1940s. These opinion polls seem to indicate distinct attitude shifts relative to respondent's' educational levels. Using evidence from the course materials, propose an explanation for role that educational levels may have played in shaping and shifting and diverging public attitudes towards both the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and future prospects for nuclear technologies.