Subject Librarian
Lucinda M. Hall
Contact:
Evans Map Room, Baker-Berry Library
Dartmouth College
25 N Main ST
Hanover, NH 03755
Dartmouth College
25 N Main ST
Hanover, NH 03755
(603) 646-0962
Website Skype Contact: d1128r8@kiewit.dartmouth.edu
Course description
This course explores the politics of natural disaster in a global historical perspective. We will begin by studying different logics under which humans have worried that 'natural' disasters might be manmade, focusing on recent scholarship that argues that social inequalities shape the impacts of disaster. We will then consider the political processes by which events have come to be recognized as environmental disasters. Finally, we will analyze the politics of disaster in our changing climate.
[Source: ORC/Catalog, 03/30/2023]
In the Library's collections
You can use one of the subject headings below to start your research in the library's online catalog:
- man made disasters environmental aspectsThis is a keyword search in the online catalog.
- man made disasters historyThis is a keyword search in the online catalog.
Introductory reading(s)
A century of man-made disasters by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781526748713A pictorial history of the major man-made calamities that shocked the world throughout the twentieth century. It was a period during which the power and scale of industrialization changed the planet--an unforeseen consequence being the creation of more human-created catastrophes than ever before experienced. The events recorded here include the needless carnage of history's worst air disaster when two jumbo jets collided on the island of Tenerife. We recall the horrors of Aberfan, the Welsh village in which schoolchildren were buried alive. ...
Catastrophes!: earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, and other earth-shattering disasters by Call Number: Baker-Berry QE 506 .P76 2011ISBN: 9780801896927Devastating natural disasters have profoundly shaped human history, leaving us with a respect for the mighty power of the earth--and a humbling view of our future. Paleontologist and geologist Donald R. Prothero tells the harrowing human stories behind these catastrophic events. ...
The illustrated history of the elements: earth, water, air, fire by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9783030214241This beautiful art book portrays the forces of nature through the main elements of Earth, Water, Air, Fire. It is composed from a large selection of unique images of a wide variety of sources, mostly private collections. It is a highly illustrated book, containing reproductions of rare engravings, maps both old and new, sketches, and diagrams. The book is a sequel to The Illustrated History of Natural Disasters, published in 2010. While the first book provided a detailed look into two main kinds of natural disasters (of seismic and volcanic character), this volume presents natural disasters of all kinds: geophysical, hydrological, climatological and biological. ...
Mapping vulnerability: disasters, development, and people by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781853839641Raging floods, massive storms and cataclysmic earthquakes: every year up to 340 million people are affected by these and other disasters, which cause loss of life and damage to personal property, agriculture, and infrastructure. So what can be done? The key to understanding the causes of disasters and mitigating their impacts is the concept of 'vulnerability.' Mapping Vulnerability analyses 'vulnerability' as a concept central to the way we understand disasters and their magnitude and impact. Written and edited by a distinguished group of disaster scholars and practitioners, this book is a counterbalance to those technocratic approaches that limit themselves to simply looking at disasters as natural phenomena. ...
Notable natural disasters by Call Number: Baker-Berry GB 5014 .N373 2007 v. 1-3ISBN: 9781587653681Notable Natural Disasters combines clearly explained scientific concepts with gripping narrative details about memorable disasters. It focuses on events caused, at least in part, by uncontrollable forces of nature. So, though human error played a role in many iceberg collisions, natural conditions were clearly a cause. Decisions were also made regarding scope and focus. ...
Selected book title(s)
Catastrophe and culture: the anthropology of disaster by Call Number: Baker-Berry HV 553 .C275 2002ISBN: 9781930618145At a time of increasing globalization and worldwide vulnerability, the study of disasters has become an important focus for anthropological research-one where the four fields of anthropology are synthesized to address the multi-dimensionality of the effects to a community's social structures and relationship to the environment. Using a variety of natural and technological disasters-including Mexican earthquakes, drought in the Andes and in Africa, the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Oakland firestorm, and the Bhopal gas disaster-the authors of this volume explore the potentials of disaster for ecological, political-economic, and cultural approaches to anthropology along with the perspectives of archaeology and history. ...
A century of man-made disasters by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781526748683This book is a catalog of disaster - literally. Within its pages are the major man-made calamities that shocked the world throughout the twentieth century. It was a period during which the power and scale of industrialization changed the planet, an unforeseen consequence being the creation of more human-created catastrophes than ever before experienced. The events recorded here include the needless carnage of history's worst air disaster when two jumbo jets collided on the island of Tenerife. ...
Natural disasters in a global environment by Call Number: Baker-Berry GB 5014 .P46 2013ISBN: 9781118252338Natural Disasters in a Global Environment is a transnational, global and environmental history of natural and man-made disasters. Detailed case studies of past and present events are presented in a historical narrative, making use of the most recent scholarship. ...
Planning for disaster: how natural and man-made disasters shape the built environment by Call Number: Sherman Art Library NA 9053 .E58 R35 2007ISBN: 9781419593734Planning for Disaster traces the impact of disasters and explores what we can learn from them to make our environments safer.
Other library resource(s)
Geographic vulnerability to climate change from Oxford Bibliographies Online by Call Number: Electronic resourceISBN: 9780199874002Attempts to analyze vulnerability to climate change—both qualitatively and quantitatively—build upon a longer history of vulnerability studies and hazards studies. “Vulnerability” is a widely used and useful concept for understanding the interaction of a relatively broad suite of environmental, socioeconomic, institutional, and political phenomena. Its analysis ranges across academic disciplines, including human and political ecology, social sciences, sustainability sciences, global change sciences, and socio-environmental synthesis, and examines the ways in which human societies are impacted by the environment, sometimes as modified by human activity. ...
Natural disasters and their impact on cities by Call Number: Electronic resourceISBN: 9780190922481Two significant trends suggest that it will be increasingly important to consider urban resilience to natural disasters in the coming years. First, there is a consensus among most climate scientists that we are experiencing a period of significant and ongoing climate change, and it is expected that there will be an increase in the number and severity of extreme climate events in the coming years. Second, the global population is increasingly becoming urbanized, and many cities are located in coastal areas that are vulnerable to severe climatic events. ...- Natural hazards and risks from Oxford Bibliographies Online by Call Number: Electronic resourceISBN: 9780199874002Natural hazards are processes that occur in nature that threaten the safety, health, and economic interests of human beings. People have often regarded the natural processes as the causes of their losses or the sources of imminent threat. The most dramatic of these events are either geomorphologic processes (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and others) or meteorological processes (hurricanes, tornados, river floods, and others), and these attract widespread attention, but occasionally some derive from complex processes (wildfires, coastal inundation, and other climate change exacerbated processes) or are merely more subtle because they develop slowly or incur slowly appearing changes (such as in droughts, freeze events, infestations [by animals or plants], or disease outbreaks). The likelihood that a particular type of event will occur in a specific location is called risk, and this probability will influence the potential for human exposure in occupied landscapes. ...
Technological and hybrid disasters from Oxford Bibliographies Online - ENVS by Call Number: Electronic resourceISBN: 9780199363445Technological disasters are typically defined as events caused by the malfunctioning of a technological structure and/or some human error in controlling or handling the technology. One of the oldest recorded technological disasters is the collapse of the Marib Dam in Yemen 570 AD. The event, which is alluded to in the Qur’an, led to the migration of an estimated fifty thousand persons to other parts of the Arabian Peninsula, bringing an end to the then existing regional civilization. ...- Vulnerability, risk, and hazards from Oxford Bibliographies Online by Call Number: Electronic resourceISBN: 9780199874002Consideration of the nexus between the geophysical and social components of natural hazards can be dated to Gilbert White’s recognition in 1942 that “floods are acts of God, but flood losses are largely acts of man [sic].” Since that time, hazards researchers have sought to understand the extent to which the losses from extreme natural events can be explained by physical processes of the events and characteristics of those at risk. This has led to considerations of how risk and vulnerability are conceptualized, measured, and mitigated. Some researchers have focused on geophysical risk and the vulnerability of locations, while others have been concerned with understanding vulnerability comprising social, demographic, and economic factors, no matter what the risk. ...
Finding scholarly articles & journal title(s)
Articles on any geographic topic can be found in a variety of publications. You can use a subject specific article index or use the search box at the top of the page. Examples of relevant indexes and journal titles follow.
Academic search complete by Call Number: Electronic resourceA scholarly, interdisciplinary article index and a good starting place for article searching on any subject.
Gale in context: Environmental studies by Call Number: Electronic resourceFrom climate change to automobile emissions, today’s environmental issues determine the destiny of tomorrow’s world. Gale In Context: Environmental Studies provides users with comprehensive information on topics that affect people around the world. You can explore topics and events within Earth systems, global change, pollution, populations, and more. This resource
Integrates case studies, news, reference materials, academic journals, videos, and more on over 400 topics.
Communication & mass media complete (CMMC) by Call Number: Electronic resourceThis is the main article index for the field of Communications and Mass Media. You can search here for articles about news coverage on natural disasters.
Web of science citation databases by Call Number: Electronic resourceThe online version of 3 separate ISI indexes: Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Science Citation Index and, Social Sciences Citation Index.
Internet resource(s)
- The Environmental Effects of Natural Disasters from The Environmental Blog
Within seconds, natural disasters can destroy buildings, tear up roads and upturn normal life. The damage these events cause, however, isn’t just limited to people and their property. When recovery begins, you often have to contend with what happens to the environment. ... - Is climate change making disasters worse? from WWF
From deadly wildfires in California to devastating floods in North Carolina, disasters have wreaked havoc across the US over the past year, the world’s hottest on record. They shook millions of lives1 and caused billions of dollars in damage.2 As climate change intensifies, there is no question that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather—often resulting in disasters—is increasing. ...
Citing and Tracking Your Bibliographic References
Use this guide to help you learn how to correctly cite and keep track of the references you find for your research.
Keeping up with Geography journal literature
Want an easy way to keep up with the journal literature for all facets of Geography? And you use a mobile device? You can install the BrowZine app and create a custom Bookshelf of your favorite journal titles. Then you will get the Table of Contents (ToCs) of your favorite journals automatically delivered to you when they become available. Once you have the ToC's, you can download and read the articles you want from the journals for which we have subscriptions.
You can get the app from the App Store or Google Play.
Don't own or use a mobile device? You can still use BrowZine! It's also available in a web version. You can get to it here. The web version works the same way as the app version. Find the journals you like, create a custom Bookshelf, get ToCs and read the articles you want.