This Decal shall be on the effects of natural disasters on a community in a political, socioeconomic, and environmental lens. This shall be accomplished through the investigation of various natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, Sandy, the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, and the recent tsunami that struck Fukushima. The course shall use news articles as the main material to be examined (as well as videos) and media coverage from various outlets to be compared. The style of the course will mainly be lecture with discussions.

Key learning objectives of the course will be:
To understand the perception various people have on certain natural disasters and to be able to identify trends and differences between those disasters.
Demonstrate a sense of the historical scale of natural disasters and an appreciation of their significance.
Compare and contrast the causes and impacts of major categories of natural disasters (e.g. tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, volcanos, and mudslides).
Analyze given examples of natural disasters from scientific, historical, social, political, and economic perspective.
Articulate key considerations in planning and decision-making related to managing the impacts of natural disasters.

The workload is minimal with a few short reading responses and a collaborative, group project as the final.

***Check out the syllabus for details!***