Steps the United States is taking to lessen the danger of war while building international confidence and security are described. The commitment of the United States to arms control is based on the conviction that the United States and the Soviet Union have a common interest in the avoidance of nuclear war and the survival of the human race. A…

These two essays are intended to make U.S. citizens think about what they are doing, to put contemplation before action when considering the "Star Wars" proposals, i.e., proposals for research, development, and testing of space weapons. It is emphasized that the "Star Wars" proposals offer no real breakthroughs in strengthening…

The author looks ahead 30 or 40 years to see what might come of the nuclear weapons predicament. As a minimal first step in the campaign against nuclear warfare, he suggests a unilateral and complete disarmament by the United States. (AM)

Analyzes the interaction between nuclear freeze activists and proponents of a Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Argues that SDI strengthens Reagan's rhetorical position concerning nuclear weapons policy because it reduces the argumentative ground of the freeze movement by envisioning a defensive weapons system that would nullify nuclear weapons.…

People's conceptual ordering of the universe has traditionally taken the form of dualism, "good and evil" and "us against them." In this age of nuclear weapons, this is highly dangerous thinking. We must rid ourselves of nationalism and commit ourselves to peace in all our dealings. (CS)

The Committee on the Present Danger, Inc., the Committee of Atomic Bomb Survivors in the United States, the World Friendship Center in Hiroshima, two authors, physics and education professors, an English and history teacher, and a high school student comment on nuclear education. (RM)

Scientists' failure to determine society's use of discoveries has facilitated the development of weapons-oriented scientific research. (AL)

This three- to eight-week unit encourages dialog among students concerning the myriad aspects of the nuclear weapons controversy. The unit is comprised of several areas: a preassessment quiz; a section on relevant vocabulary; an historical overview; a literary exploration; guest speakers; suggestions for personal involvement; and a major project.…

Examines the ironic "problems" of the 1989 Hollywood film "Fat Man and Little Boy" (portraying the construction of the atomic bomb at the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II) to demonstrate the ideological operations of nuclear texts, and the role of the nuclear weapons organization as a symbolic form in cultural…

This study examines the relationship between knowledge and attitudes with respect to nuclear issues, including the nuclear freeze proposal, MX missle, and Strategic Defense Initiative. Adults (N=750) drawn from a list of registered voters in Los Angeles County were sent a 53-item questionnaire. Of the respondents, 64 percent were male, 53 percent…

To provide a handy reference for those concerned with ways to avoid the further spread, or proliferation, of nuclear weapons, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs have since 1977 sponsored periodic publication of the Nuclear Proliferation Factbook. This fourth edition of the factbook includes a…

Of the many serious problems now facing the world, the most important is threat of nuclear destruction. Social studies educators should provide ample classroom time for discussing and examining the facts concerning nuclear warfare, and they must make sure that various points of view are presented. (RM)

Analyzes the decision to drop the atomic bomb from a rhetorical point of view, arguing that the bombs were launched because of an American commitment to a particular rhetoric that focused on the propaganda slogan "unconditional surrender." (PD)

A review of 19 recently published, secondary-level United States and world history textbooks found only brief coverage of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Japan) bombings, slight attention to the arms race and disarmament, and concentration on scientific and technical developments behind the atomic bomb rather than on its effects. (Author/RW)

Traces the theoretical significance of using names as titles for situations, and applies this analysis to the United States' intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) programs. Argues that the names given to ICBMs preserve their utility as weapons by linking them to the myths of the nineteenth-century western frontier. (MM)