The Fifties
Resources for History Workshop, the Fifties. Professor Rachel Devlin
Websites
- DOE Search ToolsCovers research results and science information from the Manhattan Project to the present, including peer-reviewed journal articles and accepted manuscripts, full text documents, conference proceedings, patents, and more. From the Office of Scientific and Technical Information of the Department of Energy.
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The Francis Crick Papers – The History of Double HelixCrick and James Watson's paper laid the groundwork for understanding DNA structure and functions. Resource created by the National Library of Medicine.
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Jonas Salk and the Polio VaccineList of primary source material created by the Eisenhower Presidential Library.
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Sputnik and the Space RaceOnline documents and photos organized by the Eisenhower Presidential Library.
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Sputnik and the Dawn of the Space AgeResource created by NASA to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Sputnik
Books
Double Helix History: genetics and the past by
Double Helix History examines the interface between genetics and history in order to investigate the plausibility of 'new' knowledge derived from scientific methods and to reflect upon what it might mean for the practice of history. Since the mapping of the human genome in 2001, there has been an expansion in the use of genetic information for historical investigation. Geneticists are confident that this has changed the way we know the past. This book considers the practicalities and implications of this seemingly new way of understanding the human past using genetics. It provides the first sustained engagement with these so-called 'genomic histories'. The book investigates the ways that genetic awareness and practice is seemingly changing historical practice and conceptualisation. Linking six concepts - 'Public', 'Practice', 'Ethics', 'Politics', 'Self', and 'Imagination - Double Helix History outlines the ways that genetic information, being postgenomic, the public life of DNA, and the genetic historical imaginary work on the body, on collective memory, on the historical imagination, on the ethics of historical investigation, on the articulation of history, and on the collection and interpretation of data regarding the 'past'. This book will appeal to researchers and students alike interested in DNA, genetics, and historiography.　
Call Number: RuonlineISBN: 1000643034Publication Date: 2022-08-29
The Third Man of the Double Helix: the Autobiography of Maurice Wilkins by Call Number: RUonlineISBN: 9786610758289Publication Date: 2003
Jonas Salk: Medical Innovator and Polio Vaccine Developer by
This biography examines the remarkable life of Jonas Salk using easy-to-read, compelling text. Through striking black-and-white images and rich color photographs, readers will learn about Salk's family background, childhood, education, groundbreaking research, and creation of the polio vaccine. Informative sidebars enhance and support the text. Features include a table of contents, timeline, facts page, glossary, bibliography, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards.Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.
Call Number: RUonlineISBN: 1624013678Publication Date: 2013-09-01
In Sputnik's Shadow: the President's Science Advisory Committee and Cold War America by
In today s world of rapid advancements in science and technology, we need to scrutinize more than ever the historical forces that shape our perceptions of what these new possibilities can and cannot do for social progress. In Sputnik s Shadow provides a lens to do just that, by tracing the rise and fall of the President s Science Advisory Committee from its ascendance under Eisenhower in the wake of the Soviet launching of Sputnik to its demise during the Nixon years. Members of this committee shared a strong sense of technological skepticism; they were just as inclined to advise the president about what technology couldn t do for national security, space exploration, arms control, and environmental protection as about what it could do. Zuoyue Wang examines key turning points during the twentieth century, including the beginning of the Cold War, the debates over nuclear weapons, the Sputnik crisis in 1957, the struggle over the Vietnam War, and the eventual end of the Cold War, showing how the involvement of scientists in executive policymaking evolved over time. Bringing new insights to the intellectual, social, and cultural histories of the era, this book not only depicts the drama of Cold War American science, it gives perspective to how we think about technological advancements today."
Call Number: RUonlineISBN: 1281776459Publication Date: 2008-10-29
Eisenhower's Sputnik Moment: the race for space and world prestige by
In a critical Cold War moment, Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency suddenly changed when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world's first satellite. What Ike called "a small ball" became a source of Russian pride and propaganda, and it wounded him politically, as critics charged that he responded sluggishly to the challenge of space exploration. Yet Eisenhower refused to panic after Sputnik--and he did more than just stay calm. He helped to guide the United States into the Space Age, even though Americans have given greater credit to John F. Kennedy for that achievement. In Eisenhower's Sputnik Moment, Yanek Mieczkowski examines the early history of America's space program, reassessing Eisenhower's leadership. He details how Eisenhower approved breakthrough satellites, supported a new civilian space agency, signed a landmark science education law, and fostered improved relations with scientists. These feats made Eisenhower's post-Sputnik years not the flop that critics alleged but a time of remarkable progress, even as he endured the setbacks of recession, medical illness, and a humiliating first U.S. attempt to launch a satellite. Eisenhower's principled stands enabled him to resist intense pressure to boost federal spending, and he instead pursued his priorities--a balanced budget, prosperous economy, and sturdy national defense. Yet Sputnik also altered the world's power dynamics, sweeping Eisenhower in directions that were new--even alien--to him, and he misjudged the importance of space in the Cold War's "prestige race." By contrast, Kennedy capitalized on the issue in the 1960 election, and after taking office he urged a manned mission to the moon, leaving Eisenhower to grumble over the young president's aggressive approach. Offering a fast-paced account of this Cold War episode, Mieczkowski demonstrates that Eisenhower built an impressive record in space and on earth, all the while offering warnings about America's stature and strengths that still hold true today.
Call Number: RUonlineISBN: 0801467934Publication Date: 2013-04-15
