Center for the Ethnographic and Historical Study of Los Alamos and National Security (CEHSLANS)
1. Ethnography of Los Alamos:
Long term community study involving participant observation and interview research in and around Los Alamos, including the Laboratory and the town, as well as research in several archives. This research seeks to give an account of a particular community closely tied to national security, and to how it changes over time in relation to changes in national security policy and international mood. This is also a multi-site project which has included observation or interviews in other sites of nuclear research (such as Oak Ridge, Hanford, Livermore) and national security work (Brookings Institution, DOE, NSC, etc.)
2. Genealogy of Security:
Combining ethnographic research with philosophical-historical genealogy, this project explores the development and modification of security as a political and social category over time. It seeks to understand the role of national security in the contemporary United States through an account of how security has been defined and pursued over the past centuries. Changes in military and surveillance technology constitute an important horizon of change.
3. Dr. Atomic Study:
In tandem with the Los Alamos Ethnography, the Center pursues aesthetic and cultural research pertaining to John Adams’ opera Dr. Atomic, which portrays Manhattan Project Los Alamos and the role of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Through historical study, interviews with artists, and formal analysis, the project seeks to increase understanding and appreciation of this pivotal work. CEHSLANS has produced a Podcast Primer for the opera which focuses on historical and formal aspects of the piece and is designed to provide background information for audiences.
4. Firearms and American Society:
This project seeks to explore the deep association with firearms in American society. Combining ethnographic research among gun owners with historical and political research on the status of guns in America, this study aims at uncovering the persistent and thoroughgoing role of firearms and violence within American self-understanding and American culture.
Projects
The CEHSLA conducts research on Los Alamos in its local geographic and cultural context, as well as in its ties to national and international security institutions and dispositives. The goal of this research is to increase understanding about the social aspects of communities heavily dedicated to national security, and the role and relation of these communities to US culture more broadly. The Los Alamos Ethnography Project has been in operation since 1990. Interviews cover the period back to the Manhattan Project.