SOCY6008 Sociology of Disaster
| Offered By | School of Sociology |
|---|---|
| Academic Career | Graduate Coursework |
| Course Subject | Sociology |
| Offered in | SOCY6008 will not be offered in 2011 |
| Unit Value | 6 units |
| Course Description | This course will look at both natural and 'man made' disasters such, cyclones, nuclear power station failures, airline crashes, coal mine explosions and mass death in sporting stadia. It will look at ways in which these disasters have been explained and the ways in which society attempts to apportion blame, very often to individuals. It will show that in almost all circumstances there are organisational failures involved, particularly failures to collect and act on warning signs. Students will be asked to apply these ideas by analysing reports of contemporary Australian disasters such as the Thredbo landslide, the Black Hawk helicopter disaster near Townsville which killed 18 men, the Sydney-Hobart yachting tragedy which took six lives in December 1998. The course will also show how the organisational perspective developed in the course can be used to explain other phenomena such as corporate crime and deaths in custody. |
| Areas of Interest | Sociology |
| Academic Contact | Professor Hopkins |
The information published on the Study at ANU 2011 website applies to the 2011 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2010 website.
