| This dissertation analyzes the work of activist-oriented American physicians and scientists in the late 1960s, assessing how they challenged policy makers to seriously address the risks associated with nuclear power and nuclear weapons technology between 1969 and 1992. Specifically, this project focuses on the activities of Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), and Rosalie Bertell, who worked under the auspices of three organizations---the Ministry of Concern for Public Health (MCPH), the Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Research (JCSFR), and the International Institute of Concern for Public Health (IICPH). All of these non-profit organizations were founded during the third wave of the anti-nuclear movement---UCS in 1969, PSR in 1979, IPPNW in 1981, MCPH and JCSFR in 1978, and IICPH in 1983. They fit neatly into sociologist, Scott Frickel's definition of "public interest science organizations," which are "distinguished by their explicit mission to seek ways to use science for the benefit of the public and by their connections to political movements." As well, the scientific and technological concerns of each of these organizations were all somehow related to the public health and/or environmental consequences of nuclear technology. The dissertation argues that the pre-existing hierarchy in the sciences (where physics and engineering were favoured over 'softer' sciences like medicine and epidemiology), the ways that gender ideology shaped the practice of science, and the tendency of the nuclear bureaucracy and the American media to feminize the work of social activists uniquely influenced the approach to activism within each of these groups. These same factors (as well as the relative size of each organization) structured the evolution of each group's understanding of nuclear risks. |
