Studies in American Culture (310-0-4)

Topic

Natural Disasters

Instructors

Nicolette Isabel Bruner

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-329: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

From earthquakes to hurricanes, fires to floods, we tend to think of natural disasters as spontaneous occurrences. The word disaster originates in the idea of being born under an unlucky constellation or struck down by an uncaring universe. When homes are flooded or crops are destroyed, we see the natural world encroaching on lives and livelihoods in seemingly unpredictable and certainly unwanted ways. But are these disasters truly a product of nature?
In this class, we will engage with the complex history of natural disasters: how people experience and rationalize these events, how communities respond to them, and how the causes of disaster are explained by various stakeholders, from victims to insurance companies. By the end of the quarter, students will have developed historical, cultural, and theoretical tools for understanding the nature of the natural disaster.

Class Materials (Required)

Donald Worster, Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s
Stephen J. Pyne, Fire: A Brief History (2nd ed)
Susan Scott Parrish, The Flood Year 1927: A Cultural History