HIST 499: RS: Senior Seminar in History

HIST 499-001: Senior Seminar: Disasters in History
(Spring 2023)

01:30 PM to 04:10 PM M

Peterson Hall 1109

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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Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

Research on specialized historical topic culminating in seminar paper and oral presentation. Synthesis course; students expected to integrate knowledge and skills acquired in Mason Core courses. Notes: Subject determined by instructor. Student may present no more than 3 credits for graduation credit. Must receive passing grade to graduate with BA in history. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Synthesis
Specialized Designation: Research/Scholarship Intensive, Topic Varies, Writing Intensive in Major
Recommended Prerequisite: History majors with 90 credits
Registration Restrictions:

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.

Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.