Radium Palace
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3914292 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jessica Madison Pískatá (Oberlin College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 335-350 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Humanities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2201-1919 • E-ISSN: 2201-1919 |
| Publisher | Duke University Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1215/22011919-11713446 |
| OpenAlex | W4412706509 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 21 |
This article is an ethnographic essay that explores the legacies of uranium mining in the radon spa town of Jáchymov, located in the northwestern Czech Republic (Czechia). It analyzes connections between the radioactive decay that emerges from a defunct mine and the history of Jáchymov itself. The spas, frequented by medical tourists seeking relief from inflammatory autoimmune conditions, are supplied by the gaseous by-products of decaying uranium ore from the nearby Svornost uranium mine. In Jáchymov, radiation produces a contact surface between the chaotic decay of subterranean energies and the bodies that have absorbed, rejected, and reluctantly harnessed them. This article uses the concept of the uncanny to bring together radioactivity, histories of place, issues of ethnographic representation, and relations between the human and the geological by exploring the familiar-strange patterns of their entangled histories. It argues that the uncanny affect of radioactive decay exemplifies how violent afterlives become "homely" through cycles of reappropriation and complicity. Drawing on ethnographic research and family archives, this article unfolds in a resonant and nonlinear way, forming a set of associations that mimic the "chain of decay" through which uranium transforms into lead
Ancient history · Radiochemistry · Radium · Chemistry · Health and Conflict Studies · History · Nuclear Issues and Defense · Twentieth Century Scientific Developments
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |