HISTORY OF NATURAL DISASTERS.

Catalog description

This course introduces students to key concepts of sustainability through the analysis of four major historical disasters: the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, the 1910 Paris Flood, and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. It examines the causes, responses, and consequences of these catastrophes across environmental, social, political, economic, and scientific dimensions, comparing them to present-day disasters. Particular attention is given to exploring sustainability through the evolution of policy, politics, and science, with a critical assessment of how "sustainable" is defined and applied in various contexts.