“Operation Sunshine”: The Rhetoric of a Cold War Technological Spectacle
Abstract This essay examines the role of the USS Nautilus (SSN 571), the world's first atomic powered submarine, as an agency for advancing the Cold War objectives of the Eisenhower White House in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's successful launches of Sputniks 1 and 2 and the early fai...
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Language: | English |
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Michigan State University Press
2013
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.16.3.0521 https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/msup/rpa/article-pdf/16/3/521/938014/rhetpublaffa.16.3.0521.pdf |
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crmichiganstupr:10.14321/rhetpublaffa.16.3.0521 2024-06-09T07:48:27+00:00 “Operation Sunshine”: The Rhetoric of a Cold War Technological Spectacle Griffin, Charles J. G. 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.16.3.0521 https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/msup/rpa/article-pdf/16/3/521/938014/rhetpublaffa.16.3.0521.pdf en eng Michigan State University Press Rhetoric and Public Affairs volume 16, issue 3, page 521-542 ISSN 1094-8392 1534-5238 journal-article 2013 crmichiganstupr https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.16.3.0521 2024-05-16T14:08:24Z Abstract This essay examines the role of the USS Nautilus (SSN 571), the world's first atomic powered submarine, as an agency for advancing the Cold War objectives of the Eisenhower White House in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's successful launches of Sputniks 1 and 2 and the early failures of the U.S. Vanguard program in late 1957 and early 1958. Specifically, it examines the campaign to exploit Nautilus for domestic propaganda purposes, which culminated in “Operation Sunshine,” the first submerged transit from the Pacific to the Atlantic oceans via the North Pole. The essay argues that architects of the technological spectacle faced the necessity of reconciling the material and symbolic aspects of the mission, and identifies three areas where this may have been necessary. In addition to illuminating the role of the Eisenhower White House in a significant, but largely forgotten episode in the Cold War, the essay illustrates the interplay of material and symbolic elements in Operation Sunshine and identifies some constraints that may be inherent in such technological spectacles. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Pole Michigan State University Press Nautilus ENVELOPE(-67.167,-67.167,-67.650,-67.650) North Pole Pacific Rhetoric and Public Affairs 16 3 521 542 |
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Open Polar |
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Michigan State University Press |
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crmichiganstupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract This essay examines the role of the USS Nautilus (SSN 571), the world's first atomic powered submarine, as an agency for advancing the Cold War objectives of the Eisenhower White House in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's successful launches of Sputniks 1 and 2 and the early failures of the U.S. Vanguard program in late 1957 and early 1958. Specifically, it examines the campaign to exploit Nautilus for domestic propaganda purposes, which culminated in “Operation Sunshine,” the first submerged transit from the Pacific to the Atlantic oceans via the North Pole. The essay argues that architects of the technological spectacle faced the necessity of reconciling the material and symbolic aspects of the mission, and identifies three areas where this may have been necessary. In addition to illuminating the role of the Eisenhower White House in a significant, but largely forgotten episode in the Cold War, the essay illustrates the interplay of material and symbolic elements in Operation Sunshine and identifies some constraints that may be inherent in such technological spectacles. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Griffin, Charles J. G. |
spellingShingle |
Griffin, Charles J. G. “Operation Sunshine”: The Rhetoric of a Cold War Technological Spectacle |
author_facet |
Griffin, Charles J. G. |
author_sort |
Griffin, Charles J. G. |
title |
“Operation Sunshine”: The Rhetoric of a Cold War Technological Spectacle |
title_short |
“Operation Sunshine”: The Rhetoric of a Cold War Technological Spectacle |
title_full |
“Operation Sunshine”: The Rhetoric of a Cold War Technological Spectacle |
title_fullStr |
“Operation Sunshine”: The Rhetoric of a Cold War Technological Spectacle |
title_full_unstemmed |
“Operation Sunshine”: The Rhetoric of a Cold War Technological Spectacle |
title_sort |
“operation sunshine”: the rhetoric of a cold war technological spectacle |
publisher |
Michigan State University Press |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.16.3.0521 https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/msup/rpa/article-pdf/16/3/521/938014/rhetpublaffa.16.3.0521.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-67.167,-67.167,-67.650,-67.650) |
geographic |
Nautilus North Pole Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Nautilus North Pole Pacific |
genre |
North Pole |
genre_facet |
North Pole |
op_source |
Rhetoric and Public Affairs volume 16, issue 3, page 521-542 ISSN 1094-8392 1534-5238 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.16.3.0521 |
container_title |
Rhetoric and Public Affairs |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
521 |
op_container_end_page |
542 |
_version_ |
1801380166618841088 |