1. |
- Bennesved, Peter, et al.
(author)
-
Embedding preparedness, assigning responsibility : the role of film in sociotechnical imaginaries of civil defence
- 2022
-
In: Cold war civil defence in Western Europe. - Cham : Springer. - 9783030842819 - 9783030842802 ; , s. 103-128
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This chapter examines the role of film and television in embedding sociotechnical imaginaries of civil defence during the early nuclear age (c. 1949-1965) by zooming in on Sweden and Denmark, two neighbouring countries that differed both in terms of their political position in the Cold War and in the scale of their civil defence efforts. Following a theoretical discussion of the psychosocial effects of films and their manner of circulation, we analyse Swedish and Danish films in two periods demarcated by the thermonuclear disruption of civil defence during the mid-1950s. The analysis highlights how films were used to frame technologies and script and perform social norms. We argue that films constitute an important source for understanding the difficulties of embedding sociotechnical imaginaries of civil defence.
|
|
2. |
- Cronqvist, Marie, et al.
(author)
-
Conclusion : Civil Defence Futures (Re)imagined
- 2021
-
In: Cold War Civil Defence in Western Europe : Sociotechnical Imaginaries of Survival and Preparedness - Sociotechnical Imaginaries of Survival and Preparedness. - Cham : Springer International Publishing. - 9783030842802 - 9783030842819 ; , s. 233-245
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Reflecting on the individual studies of civil defence during the Cold War provided in this volume, this brief, concluding chapter performs three tasks. First, against the backdrop of the empirical analyses and the collective exploration of the concept of sociotechnical imaginaries, we reflect on the potential and limitations of this concept in historical scholarship. Second, we sum up the findings of the book by drawing attention to some of the most striking similarities and differences that emerge from the empirical chapters. Finally, we briefly make a case for the value and relevance of civil defence history for current imaginaries of security for civil society in Europe in the face of a highly diverse range of potential threats.
|
|
3. |
- Cronqvist, Marie, et al.
(author)
-
Introduction: New Paths in Civil Defence History
- 2021
-
In: Cold War civil defence in Western Europe : Sociotechnical imaginaries of survival and preparedness - Sociotechnical imaginaries of survival and preparedness. - Cham : Springer International Publishing. - 9783030842802 - 9783030842819 ; , s. 1-23
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The introduction to the volume lays out the rationale and ambitions of the book, delineates its chronological and geographical focus and situates it in the existing historiography of civil defence. One central ambition is to advance civil defence history by attuning it more explicitly to the study of science and technology and to pave the way for transnational and comparative efforts. We do so in two steps. We introduce and explore the concept of sociotechnical imaginaries developed by Sheila Jasanoff and Sang-Hyun Kim, before applying and adjusting it to civil defence history. Finally, the introduction provides a brief overview of the chapters in the volume.
|
|
4. |
- Cronqvist, Marie, et al.
(author)
-
Preface
- 2021
-
In: Cold War Civil Defence in Western Europe : Sociotechnical Imaginaries of Survival and Preparedness - Sociotechnical Imaginaries of Survival and Preparedness. - 9783030842819 - 9783030842802
-
Book chapter (other academic/artistic)
|
|
5. |
- Cronqvist, Marie, 1973-, et al.
(author)
-
Remembering Desirable Futures? : Civil Defence Memories and Everyday Life in Sweden and the UK
- 2021
-
In: Cold War Civil Defence in Western Europe. - Cham : Palgrave Macmillan. - 9783030842802 - 9783030842819 ; , s. 209-231
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This open access edited collection brings together established and new perspectives on Cold War civil defence in Western Europe within a common analytical framework that also facilitates comparative and transnational dimensions. The current interest in creating disaster-resilient societies demands new histories of civil defence. Historical contextualization is essential in order to understand what is at stake in preparing, devising, and implementing forms of preparedness, protection, and security that are specifically targeted at societies and citizens. Applying the concept of sociotechnical imaginaries to civil defence history, the chapters of this volume cover a range of new themes, from technology and materiality to media, memory, and everyday experience. The book underlines the social embeddedness of civil defence by detailing how it both prompted new forms of social interaction and reflected norms and visions of the ‘good society’ in an age where nuclear technology seemed to hold the key to both doom and salvation.
|
|
6. |
- Cronqvist, Marie, et al.
(author)
-
Remembering desirable futures? : Civil defence memories and everyday life in Sweden and the United Kingdom
- 2021
-
In: Cold War civil defence in Western Europe : Sociotechnical imaginaries of survival and preparedness - Sociotechnical imaginaries of survival and preparedness. - Cham : Springer International Publishing. - 9783030842802 - 9783030842819 ; , s. 209-231
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This chapter explores how the concept of sociotechnical imaginaries can be used to examine civil defence as remembered. In focus stand oral histories testifying to the entanglement of civil defence in everyday life. The chapter employs a historical ethnography approach, using interviews and questionnaires collected between 2006 and 2012 in Sweden and the UK. The analysis, which departs from the three themes of localities, temporalities and mediations, illustrates the value of a more ‘bottom-up’ approach and discusses how we may refine the sociotechnical imaginaries framework to incorporate at least some elements of the ‘fuzziness’ of everyday life. It shows how elements of everyday culture relate to processes of embedding, resistance and extension of civil defence in Sweden, the UK and beyond.
|
|