Through our Spring 2024 conference, “Disarming Toxic Empire,” the Rapoport Center and its partners and co-sponsors fostered an interdisciplinary, intergenerational, and international approach to nuclear weapons, waste, extraction, and energy. Conference participants—scholars, artists, advocates, and activists—considered and contested the unjust, imperial histories and geographies of nuclear testing, production, storage, and weaponry through channels of intergenerational memory and action. Through this Special Series of the Rapoport Center’s Working Paper Series, participants in the conference were invited to publish their remarks or papers based on their remarks, with short responses by graduate students part of the Rapoport Center’s Working Paper Series editorial committee. These exceptional pieces capture the critical insight and clarity that were a common feature of contributions to the conference. Considering sites ranging from the Navajo Nation and the Pacific Islands to Japan, North Africa, and Ghana, their exciting interventions showcase the breadth and depth of work considering “toxic empire” that is taking place at the University of Texas at Austin and around the world. To watch the conference presentations, visit the “Disarming Toxic Empire” playlist on YouTube.
Installments in this Special Series:
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“Only a Piece of the Total Prophecy”: Ghost Dancing Against Nuclear Waste
by Jennifer Graber, Department of Religious Studies and Affiliate Faculty in Native American…
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COMMENTARY: “‘Only a Piece of the Total Prophecy’: Ghost Dancing Against Nuclear Waste” by Jennifer Graber
Commentary by Nancy Blanco This is a commentary written by PhD student Nancy…
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An “Islamic Bomb” and the Politics of Scientific Dissent: Pakistan’s Feminist and Peace Disquietudes amidst an Unending Cold War
by Vanja Hamzić, Professor of Law, History, and Anthropology, SOAS University of London…
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COMMENTARY: “An ‘Islamic Bomb’ and the Politics of Scientific Dissent: Pakistan’s Feminist and Peace Disquietudes amidst an Unending Cold War”
Commentary by Jackie Cheng This is a commentary written by law student Jackie…
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COMMENTARY: How I Learned to Keep Worrying and Teach the Bomb
This is a commentary written by law student Katelyn Lilley (University of Texas)…
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How I Learned to Keep Worrying and Teach the Bomb | Kirsten Cather
By Kirsten Cather, Professor of Asian Studies, University of Texas at Austin ***…