Canadian Scientists and Military Research in the Cold War, 1947–60

This article examines the militarization of academic science in Canada during the Cold War period between 1947 and 1960. As evidenced by the extramural program of the Defence Research Board (drb), the scientific research branch of the Canadian armed services, funding for defence attracted faculty an...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Canadian historical review 2019-08, Vol.100 (3), p.439-462
Main Author: Wiseman, Matthew S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic work
Armed forces
Autonomy
Canadian history
Cold War
College students
Graduate students
Historians
Militarization
National security
Research funding
Scientists
Social sciences
Sponsorship
War
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This article examines the militarization of academic science in Canada during the Cold War period between 1947 and 1960. As evidenced by the extramural program of the Defence Research Board (drb), the scientific research branch of the Canadian armed services, funding for defence attracted faculty and graduate students to the world of military research. Government officials and civilian scientists collaborated to establish and grow the drb’s extramural program, championing military research at Canadian universities and shaping academic work in both the physical and social sciences. Academics across the country benefited from the autonomy drb scientists held over the direction and distribution of federal funds made available for military research, suggesting that the militarization of academic science in Canada came from within the existing scientific community. An assessment of the political and financial ties established among government authorities and university scientists reveals the extent to which national security concerns influenced the work of some of Canada’s top academics. Military sponsorship is an understudied yet important object of theory and analysis for historians of Canada and the Cold War, and it is incumbent upon Canadian historians to discuss and debate the role and influence of military research in the university context.
ISSN:0008-3755
1710-1093
DOI:10.3138/chr.2018-0103