Documenting Post-War Activist Science

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Grants for Exploratory Research funding will fund a small conference of scholars and archivists to explore the feasability of creating an in-line archives in the area of activist and public interest science. From the late 1940s through the l970s, a significant element of the American scientific community found itself in a complex relationship with major national institutions. On the one hand, Federal funds were flowing freely, spurred by "national security state" concerns about the cold war. This largesse expanded the government's research laboratory system and greatly affected the size, scope, and character of science carried out in university and industry settings. On the other hand, many scientists personally objected to certain elements of national policy, both on moral grounds and on technical scientific grounds. Some of these scientists organized their dissent through public interest and activist groups that argued for scientific and political alternatives. Exploring complexities and tensions among these diverse institutional relationships in science is crucial to better understand the interactions of scientific knowledge and social context in post-World War II America. The impact of Cold War policies upon the scientific community and scientific knowledge within more traditional institutions has become a robust area of research. However, relatively few studies exist on the relationships between activist and public interest science and the more mainstream scientific community and institutions. A number of scholars have begun exploring the history and sociology of activist science and scientists and their effect on public and political understandings of scientific knowledge (most explicitly, Moore 1995; but also Kuznick 1991; Lewenstein 1999; Nye 1999; Wang 1999). Informal discussions among some scholars have identified a pressing historical need: to locate and, if necessary, preserve existing archival resources of the post-war period related to activist and public interest science. This effort might also include collecting oral histories of prominent scientists active in political issues during the post-war period. While some materials exist, and many interviews have been conducted, they are often scattered, unknown, or not publicly available. Moreover, as the scientists of the postwar generation reach the ends of their lives, their papers are being dispersed and sometimes lost. An urgent project must be undertaken to identify these resources and preserve them. Funding for this project will allow for a small planning meeting in Washington D.C. in conjunction with the February 2000 AAAAS Meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to explore systematically whether a more thorough project is worth developing.