Joseph P. Masco

This research evaluates how contemporary American perceptions of threat are informed by the cultural legacies of the Cold War nuclear project. It is a genealogical study of American attitudes about global threat, as manifested in the evolution of the "weapons of mass destruction" discourse. It interrogates the nuclear present via: 1) new Cold War history museums; 2) analysis of recently declassified military nuclear films; 3) archival analysis of US civil defense and nuclear planning; and 4) interviews with contemporary defense intellectuals. By analyzing how the "war on terror" is informed by the Cold War "balance of terror," this study makes a vital contribution to our understanding of how nuclear fear has shaped American culture.