Since the Fukushima nuclear crisis, nuclear energy policy has experienced increased debate across the world. In Europe, turnarounds in nuclear energy policy have taken place in Germany, Switzerland and Italy. In North America, on the other hand, there is considerably less public debate about nuclear energy and the associated industries like uranium mining or the storage of nuclear waste. In this workshop, we would like to bring together perspectives on the social constellations, political economy/ecology, and cultural discourses of nuclear energy in Europe and North America.

Possible areas of discussion include:

1. a comparison of a wide variety of cases from European, Canadian and international contexts
2. theoretical approaches that address the social setting of and discourses about the nuclear energy sector and the practices of nuclear energy
3. contributions that allow to historically trace the development of nuclear energy/industry/policy

The workshop will include a public film screening of the recent documentary “Under Control” on Nov 11th (courtesy of the Goethe Institute Toronto) and a public round table on Nov 13th. The academic workshop will take place on Nov 12th and 13th.

Interested participants are invited to submit an abstract for a paper (200 words) to Ulrich Best, ubest@yorku.ca

Please note that the deadline for abstracts is October 7, 2011.

The Forum will be conducted in English.