Includes bibliographical references (pages 241-257) and index.
Summary:
"RADIANT INFRASTRUCTURES considers the environmental effects of cell phone towers and nuclear reactors-and, in particular, how media shapes the environmental controversies that are activated by these infrastructures. In India, cell phone towers and nuclear reactors appear as symbols of development, yet remain fraught with controversy over the risk of potentially carcinogenic radiation. In contrast to the highly visible physical infrastructures that support cell service and nuclear reactors, radiation itself is invisible, and activists, corporations, and government actors alike have relied on mediated narratives of radiation to shape public opinion about it. Rahul Mukherjee shows how mediation creates nuclear imaginaries: newspaper, television, Bollywood, and radio representations of environmental controversies produce affective and speculative work to frame and shape how Indian publics understand the relationships between modernity, development, radiation, and nuclear power. In the first two chapters Mukherjee lays out the context for debates around cell antenna radiation-sparked by newspaper reports of potentially carcinogenic radiation in Mumbai-and nuclear reactor safety-catalyzed by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Both of these controversies called environmental publics into action, including various stakeholders who use and are influenced by media in diverse ways. The following chapter tracks the ways in which cellular operators and nuclear administrators attempt to contain signal emissions and radioactive nuclides, while simultaneously working to contain information about radiation spills and potential health risks associated with radiation. In contrast, mediated testimonies of cancer patients living or working close to radiant infrastructures demonstrate how feelings and bodily sensations can shape environmental publics. Social movements around infrastructure development in contemporary India were shaped by class and region-while most cell antenna campaigns took place in heavily-populated cities, anti-nuke activism was grounded in rural areas-and media played an essential role in framing and sustaining environmental activism. RADIANT INFRASTRUCTURES will interest students and scholars in media and technology studies, environmental studies, South Asian studies, and urban studies, as well as those working on infrastructure"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.