Dr. Joseph Buscemi, immediately following his successful online PhD defence.
Joe Buscemi's dissertation, "If All Else Fails...SURVIVAL: Protect and Survive and the End of the World in Thatcherite Britain," was successfully defended online July 2nd, 2020. The dissertation focuses on Protect and Survive, a set of classified documents and videos that the British government of the 1980s intended to distribute to the public in the event of a nuclear attack. Aside from the authorship of the programme, Joe connects Protect and Survive to broader elements of British identity, Thatcherisim and neo-liberalism, nuclear civil defence, Cold War media and popular culture, nuclear activism, and government/citizen dialogues.
After some minor revisions, Joe intends to create a book proposal and publish his dissertation as a contemporary monograph that appeals to both academia and the broader public. Joe is also excited to remain in the Waterloo community by teaching his newly created Arts First course in the fall and winter terms, titled The Cold War Re:LIVEd. The course will be built around a three-week historical roleplay activity, set in 1983. More updates can be found on Joe Buscemi's website.
Joe writes, "I am incredibly grateful to have completed my doctorate at the University of Waterloo. The Tri-University program provided the resources and experience I needed to achieve my goals and created an ideal learning community. Defending online was easier than I thought, all you miss out on are the handshakes at the end. Along with my family and friends, special thanks must go out to my supervisor Dr. Daniel Gorman, as well as the incredibly supportive faculty and staff in the Department of History. I actually finished!!!" Along with supervisor, Dr. Gorman, Joe's doctoral committee included Dr. John Sbardellati and Dr. Andrew Hunt.
The Tri-University program provided the resources and experience I needed to achieve my goals and created an ideal learning community.