STS 4191 - Aftermaths: The Complexities of Disasters

(crosslisted)
(also BSOC 4191, SHUM 4191) (CA-AS)

Fall. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

V. Choi.

These days it seems disasters and crisis characterize our contemporary moment. Disasters are not singular events; they have spiraling and lingering effects that touch upon many facets of life and global society. How do we attempt to understand them, as expansive as they are? How do scientific and institutionalized bodies attempt to manage and control disasters? This seminar explores these questions, by studying the aftermaths of disasters, through written ethnography, film, journalism, photography. We will discern the ways relationships of power are articulated in processes of disaster management. Lastly, through learning and writing about disasters, we will be forced to think about how to make sense of nature, death, destruction, and hope. How can we, in turn, learn to be sensitive readers, and concerned citizens and scholars?