RESEARCH STREAMS
What are Research Streams?
Nuclear Nation combines methods from contemporary archaeology, material culture studies, digital humanities and First Nations-led research approaches to contribute new understandings of Australia’s atomic heritage. We approach this task via three interconnected Research Streams that each focus on a distinctive suite of methods applied to the categories of place, objects and cultural values and narratives. First Nations-led research perspectives are woven through each Research Stream, recognising that this technology and history always extracts from, or is in relation to, Country.
Collaborative, Multi-Scalar Interpretation: Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this methodology is the opportunity to combine the outcomes of all 3 Streams to develop interpretations at multiple scales: to visualise and voice the global networks embedded in particular objects; to reconnect collections with Country and communities; and to specify the contested and traumatic local stories and lived experience of these global political and scientific policies and influences.
01
CONTEMPORARY ARCHAEOLOGY
Inventory, Mapping, Characterisation, Visualisation
Starting with place/Country: this research stream will compile a digital inventory of atomic heritage, infrastructure, landscapes and collections in Australia. Because of the vast scale of this data, we are using data sources including satellite imagery and geospatial prospecting techniques, as well as archival research, historical plans, photographs and documents. Site characterisation methods and thematic mapping will generate visualisations of the mapped inventory data showing the international networks within which they are embedded and their connections to associated heritage materials and collections, and sites across the nation.
Site ‘types’ date back to 1906 – earliest mining at Radium Hill, South Australia – and include: reactor construction, atmospheric nuclear tests, uranium mining, areas of Indigenous dispossession, protest sites, ballistic missile launches, medical isotope generation, waste repositories and military command, control and communications facilities. A critical component of the methodology will be archival research and cataloguing of the holdings at major national, state and private repositories relevant to Australia’s nuclear science and technology heritage.
02
ATOMIC HERITAGE COLLECTIONS
Collections Analysis, Object Biographies, First Nations Stories
Starting with objects: this stream will focus on collections analyses of Powerhouse and ANSTO holdings, analysing their nature and significance to identify gaps, themes and coverage of Australia’s atomic heritage. This will be achieved initially through thematic and keyword analyses and proceed via comparison with other holdings and themes as they are identified through Research Stream 01.
The First Nations researchers and First Nations curatorial staff will determine the potential for building Indigenous knowledge around current collections, and/or detailing the need for future acquisition to address Indigenous atomic histories and narratives.
A second phase of this work will identify objects that would benefit from the development of more detailed object biographies, itineraries or stories to enrich the contemporary archaeology at a fine-grained level. These may include practice-led engagements using for instance, 3D visualisations, photography and other creative approaches undertaken via collaborations with the Powerhouse and ANSTO teams.
03
HERITAGE ANALYSES
Oral Histories, Interviews, Values Workshops
Starting with cultural values and narratives: critical heritage analyses will intersect with findings from research streams 01 and 02, to explore how diverse nuclear legacies are experienced, made sense of and valued (in either positive or negative terms).Working with communities associated with ANSTO and other nuclear science related facilities, as well as communities living with nuclear legacies, we will gather oral testimony and explore questions of value in workshop settings.
Our approach aims to interweave the local and global, moving from the specific narratives of particular objects to illuminating the international geopolitical networks that they are entangled within, considering nuclear initiatives holistically, and foregrounding First Nations perspectives. Nuclear Nation aims to move beyond the ‘representational’ approach of traditional heritage analyses to provide new ways to understand and experience the affective intensity of atomic heritage, allowing for a better understanding of its cultural significance in contemporary culture.
