History

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/9884

This is the collection for the University of Waterloo's Department of History.

Research outputs are organized by type (eg. Master Thesis, Article, Conference Paper).

Waterloo faculty, students, and staff can contact us or visit the UWSpace guide to learn more about depositing their research.

Browse

Browsing History by Subject "1970s"

Filter results by typing the first few letters
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    If All Else Fails ... Survival: Protect and Survive and the End of the World in Thatcherite Britain
    (University of Waterloo, 2020-08-10) Buscemi, Joseph
    If All Else Fails… Survival, is a thorough examination of the creation of Britain’s 1980s nuclear civil defence program, Protect and Survive. The programme’s role as a significant political and cultural influence in Britain throughout the decade, and as a prominent construct of Cold War memories, are evidenced. The Conservative Party’s release of the programme was a defining moment in British history, that carries political, social, cultural, and psychological ramifications. However, this research establishes that the programme’s legacy as the creepy cartoon that advised families to hide from nuclear bombs in DIY shelters is misunderstood and oversimplified. Protect and Survive’s pragmatic simplicity (still associated with the Conservative Party) was symptomatic of a long, clandestine history of nuclear proliferation and civil defence cuts spearheaded by Labour Ministries as a means of bolstering support for the nuclear deterrent. The programme sparked concerted criticisms and its questionable efficacy was considered to be indicative of government efforts to remain a nuclear power, at the expense of public survival. The many policies, protests, and media that emanated from Protect and Survive provide unrivalled examples of discourses between governments and citizenry during the Cold War, indelibly capturing how British leaders covertly prepared themselves for the end of British civilization. Also brought to light is the unprecedented alliance between scientists, artists, doctors, Labour, academics, the CND, socialists, and Local Authorities (principally the Greater London Council) to assail the Thatcher government through the weak point of Protect and Survive’s dubious credibility. Being released in early 1980, Protect and Survive became a remarkable focal point of Thatcherite conservatism, nuclear disarmament, and British neoliberal culture at national and municipal levels. The remarkably negative public reaction to the program facilitated extraordinary debates and media on Britain’s status as a nuclear power. Also considered are the cultural and political realities of 1980s British society through the relationships between federal and municipal governments with civil defence and the protection of its citizenry. British concepts of nuclear danger are explored as well as how the fear of annihilation informed ideas of Britishness, community, mental health, class, culture, and the role of government. Also rationalized is the processes through which Protect and Survive shaped the everyday experience of British life during the Cold War as part of a complex correlation between politics and culture that was endemic within Cold War Britain.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Jane Fonda's Antiwar Activism and The Myth of Hanoi Jane
    (University of Waterloo, 2011-08-31T19:43:07Z) King, Sarah
    This thesis examines Jane Fonda’s antiwar activism during the Vietnam War, focusing on the period from late 1969 through 1973. Her early activism was characterized by frequent protests against the war, speeches at antiwar rallies and college campuses, and involvement with the organization Vietnam Veterans Against the War. In 1971 Fonda organized an antiwar troupe, FTA, which performed antiwar songs and sketches to active-duty servicemen in America and Southeast Asia. Fonda’s notorious trip to North Vietnam is examined in detail, as are her comments in 1973 regarding American POWs. Negative reaction to Fonda’s activism is examined, and the myth of “Hanoi Jane” is traced from its wartime origins through its postwar evolution. The John Kerry-Jane Fonda photograph incident of 2004 is reviewed, and treated as a symptom of decades-long anti-Hanoi Jane ideas, rather than an isolated incident. Fonda’s gender, the media’s treatment of her at various stages, and her own missteps all receive consideration in determining where Jane Fonda ends and the myth of Hanoi Jane begins.