Class on Nuclear War Offers Trip to Omaha

The course syllabus for "General Education 159: The Nuclear Age" looks pretty average at first glance--lectures, reading, the ususal.

Oh, and don't forget the field trip to Omaha, Neb.

Subs and SAC

As part of the course on nuclear strategy and modern warfare, jointly offered by the Kennedy School of Government, K-School Lecturer on Public Policy Kurt M. Campbell and Mallinckrodt Professor of Biochemistry Paul M. Doty are planning a class visit to two major American military installations--the nuclear submarine base in Groton, Conn., and the Strategic Air Command in Omaha.

The lecturer said that he expects approximately 50 students to enroll in the course, which is offered Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m.

According to Campbell, seeing the American arsenal first-hand gives students a much better appreciation of the weapons' power and destructive capacity.

"We have a couple of trips planned to a couple of military sites," Campbell said. "It helps when you see these things you normally only read about."

Though the trips are not required for the course, Campbell said "if we go to Groton, the class fund [provided by the K-School] will pay for most of it."

Campbell said that the students will have to pay for the round-trip flight to Omaha. Two years ago the class made the trip by military aircraft.

Campbell, who is teaching the course for the second year in a row, said he is also working on bringing a high-ranking Soviet military officer to the class as a guest lecturer.

"We're going to have some Soviet specialist--from their arms control team--come and speak," Campbell said.

Campbell said the students would also work on an American-Soviet war-gaming exercise for class.

Doty, an expert on the social and ethical issues of nuclear war who worked on the Manhattan Project to build the first atomic bomb, was not available for comment.