Description
An innovative account of the first nuclear programme in independent Africa, centring on the promises and perils of atomic research in Ghana.
About the Author
Abena Dove Osseo-Asare is Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Texas, Austin, holds a secondary appointment as an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health at the University of Texas's Dell Medical School, and is a serving member of the editorial boards of Endeavour and Social History of Medicine. She is the author of Bitter Roots: The Search for Healing Plants in Africa (2014), which was awarded the Melville J. Herskovits Prize in African Studies and the American Historical Association Pacific Coast Branch Book Prize.
Reviews
'A carefully researched but also deeply personal history of nuclear science in Ghana. Osseo-Asare's history takes us from Ghanaian nuclear scientists' measurements of fallout from French nuclear tests in Algeria in the early 1960s through to Ghana's acquisition of a nuclear reactor from China in the 1990s, and further into the present day. Commendable for its breadth of perspective and fascinating detail.' Hugh Gusterson, George Washington University, Washington, DC
'A meticulous historian with an ethnographer's eye for rich detail, Osseo-Asare boldly overturns standard accounts of Cold War atomic science, placing Ghanaian aspirations for decolonized knowledge and talented black researchers at the center. A brilliant and utterly original rendering of one nation's nuclear dreams that are at once liberatory and frustrated.' Alondra Nelson, President of the Social Science Research Council
'... a well-rounded account of an independent African country's nuclear past. Given the author's family ties to Ghana and particularly to the Ghanaian community of nuclear scientists, the story reflects a very personal engagement with the subject. Osseo-Asare has most likely produced the authoritative account of Ghana's nuclear endeavor, including its achievements and setbacks, in a clear and balanced manner.' Robin Moeser, African Studies Review
'Atomic Junction is a pleasure to read. Osseo-Asare writes with flair and weaves together evidence from a range of archival and oral narratives with major themes in the history of atomic power, science in the Cold War, decolonization, and social and cultural history ... This undoubtedly is an important contribution to the growing literature in the history of science and technology in postcolonial Africa.' Jeremy M. Rich, H-Africa
'Atomic Junction is a great feat of multidisciplinary research presented in a tightly written and lucid narrative.' Damilola Adebayo, Technology and Culture
'... a masterful contribution to the growing scholarship on the history of science and technology in Africa.' Jennifer Hart, H-Africa
Book Information
ISBN 9781108457378
Author Abena Dove Osseo-Asare
Format Paperback
Page Count 296
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 500g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 153mm * 15mm