SOCI 183 - Disaster and Disorder: The New Normal

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

Disasters have been much in the news these days, and the evidence suggest their frequency is increasing. Hurricanes, droughts, floods, earthquakes, and heat waves are among the natural disasters we have gone through - while “unnatural” man-made catastrophes are many - including economic meltdowns, nuclear power plant accidents, and toxic contamination. Disasters force us to confront the very nature of our society, including problems of poverty, race, ethnicity, age, and gender. They test the relative strength of our safety net, the viability of our institutions, the elasticity of our resources, and the capacity of our technologies. In this course, we look at a variety of case studies, such as Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, Chernobyl, Bhopal, The Gulf Oil Spill, Fukishima, Three Mile Island, and The Great Recession. Marque Miringoff.

Open only to freshmen; satisfies the college requirement for a Freshman Writing Seminar.

Two 75-minute periods.

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