Cold War Crises

Silent Messengers of the Cold War: Canadian Arctic Policy, Banal Colonialism, and the Postage Stamp

guest lecturer: Daniel Dumas MA

Postage stamps are considered to be silent messengers of the state, capable of transmitting ideas, representations, and often politically-charged messages of what nation-states wish to present to both domestic and international audiences. This talk considers how stamps were used during the Cold War to shore up interests related to Arctic sovereignty, specifically in relation to Canada. At issue is the 1955 "Eskimo Hunter" stamp, which, as is argued, played a role in a broader matrix of power that involved Inuit, forced relocations, and the exercise of banal colonialism.

Image credit: Eskimo Hunter stamp. Source: Library and Archives Canada. Copyright: Canada Post Corporation. 1955.

Combatting a Crisis of National Identity: Pro-Hero Politics & Imagery of the Reagan Era

guest lecturer: Alexandra Schenke MA

In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, U.S. society was faced with the disintegration of a national identity that was based, to a significant extent, on narratives of American victory and heroic masculinity. Waning confidence in American moral and military superiority threatened to destabilize a once proudly shared self-concept that had been key to U.S. foreign policy in the ongoing Cold War. In order to restore national pride as well as credibility towards both allies and foes, President Ronald Reagan and Hollywood filmmakers came to deliver renewed images of national heroism and strength to U.S. and international publics, now often framed by narratives of vindication and rugged American masculinity. This talk will delineate these “pro-hero” messages of national vigor as communicated, at times in collaboration, by both Reagan and Hollywood in response to this crisis of confidence.

Image Credit: A naval aviator assists filmmakers in the production of the motion picture Top Gun (July 1985). Source: U.S. National Archives. Copyright: U.S. Public Domain (Unrestricted Access & Use).

These guest talks held by Daniel Dumas MA and Alexandra Schenke MA are part of the lecture series "Crises-Wars-Environments" (convener: Prof. Dr. Christof Mauch).