79-369 Disasters in American History: Floods and Hurricanes

6 units, Carnegie Mellon University

Unlike technological catastrophes, such as nuclear accidents or terror bombings, what we call natural disasters appear to be random and outside human control. In this course we will question that assumption by examining the material causes of disasters due to hurricanes and floods in U. S. History. We will investigate the historical roles played by people in shaping disasterprone environments as well as how preparation for and response to natural disasters have changed over time. In addition, we will look at how people have been affected differently according to their race, ethnicity, or class in order to try to understand the human experience of natural disaster from different perspectives. By the end of the course, we will have examined hurricanes and floods in detailed historical context and be prepared to use this knowledge to think about disasters that face us in the future.

Prerequisites: none listed

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