History revisited: Atomic bomb panel
Laura Fannon
Issue date: 2/26/10 Section: News
History isn't one-dimensional and neither are the stories that surround it.
This was the focal point of the "Double Exposure - Reflections on Dropping the Atomic Bomb" panel discussion held Monday night at North Georgia's Library and Technology Center.
The panel featured professors from the history and philosophy department, symbolizing the underlying theme of the discussion-that history is not just one-sided.
Each speaker offered attendees a variety of thoughts and issues regarding the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Dr. Richard Byers started with a historical timeline from the birth of the bomb to the dropping of the bomb.
Dr. Sung Shin Kim informed attendees of the often overlooked and unidentified Korean factory workers and dislodged American travelers who were also affected by the bombings.
Dr. Troy Catterson questioned the ethics behind the bombings with the application of just war theory.
He asked attendees to plunge into the historical matrix of probability, fact and supposition.
From then until now, the sensitivity regarding the subject remains.
Many individuals offer a variety of opinions and a variety of significant facts when it comes to revisiting the event.
Regardless of whether or not the bombs are, or were, viewed as ethical or excessive, the fact remains that the bombs were dropped.
Like all lessons in history, it's up to the individual to determine what to take from the event.
"History is the present thought about the past," Dr. Christopher Jespersen, dean of the School of Arts and Letters and panel moderator concluded at the end of the discussion.
"It is the interaction of how we interpret [the past] and how we use it," he said.
This was the focal point of the "Double Exposure - Reflections on Dropping the Atomic Bomb" panel discussion held Monday night at North Georgia's Library and Technology Center.
The panel featured professors from the history and philosophy department, symbolizing the underlying theme of the discussion-that history is not just one-sided.
Each speaker offered attendees a variety of thoughts and issues regarding the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Dr. Richard Byers started with a historical timeline from the birth of the bomb to the dropping of the bomb.
Dr. Sung Shin Kim informed attendees of the often overlooked and unidentified Korean factory workers and dislodged American travelers who were also affected by the bombings.
Dr. Troy Catterson questioned the ethics behind the bombings with the application of just war theory.
He asked attendees to plunge into the historical matrix of probability, fact and supposition.
From then until now, the sensitivity regarding the subject remains.
Many individuals offer a variety of opinions and a variety of significant facts when it comes to revisiting the event.
Regardless of whether or not the bombs are, or were, viewed as ethical or excessive, the fact remains that the bombs were dropped.
Like all lessons in history, it's up to the individual to determine what to take from the event.
"History is the present thought about the past," Dr. Christopher Jespersen, dean of the School of Arts and Letters and panel moderator concluded at the end of the discussion.
"It is the interaction of how we interpret [the past] and how we use it," he said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Shawn Tonner
posted 2/26/10 @ 8:59 AM EST
So glad the Saint was there to cover this terrific and thought-provoking panel.
Please visit the accompanying exhibit from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor galleries of Library Technology Center. (Continued…)
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