01:30 PM to 04:10 PM M
Peterson Hall 1109
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Section Information for Spring 2023
What constitutes a “disaster”? What do changing explanations of the causes and costs of disasters, and differing responses to them, tell us about past societies and, more generally, about the larger contours of history?
This research seminar covers 250 years of disaster history, from the great Lisbon earthquake of 1755 – often called the "first modern disaster" – to Hurricane Katrina. Although the collective reading for this course, which will be minimal, is mostly on American topics, students may do their research paper on a disaster or a disaster-related issue in any geographical area. Since choosing an interesting and viable topic is the key to success in HIST 499, students should begin considering their options before our first meeting. Places to start looking for topics include some rather bizarre online lists and also Wikipedia. See, for instance, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_disasters.
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Credits: 3
Required Prerequisites: (HIST 300C or 300XS) and (ENGH 302C, ENGL 302C, ENGH 302XS, HNRS 110C, 110XS, 210C, 302C or 302XS).
C Requires minimum grade of C.
XS Requires minimum grade of XS.
Enrollment is limited to students with a major in History.
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