This course provides an overview of the types of environmental disasters that commonly affect both human and non-human primates. When considering humans alone, the course will examine the effect of environmental disasters cross-culturally by comparing victimology along with how different populations have prepared for, responded to and recovered from past disasters. The course will then expand on this through cross-species comparisons with the way other primates respond to and recover from the same (or similar) disasters.  This course will also consider the role of disaster relief agencies in different cultural contexts and will use information learned from historical disasters to discuss what the expected impact of current environmental disasters may be.

By the end of this course you should be able to:

1. Place the concept of disasters in both historical and current perspectives and recognize factors that influence preparedness and both the short and long-term response to environmental disasters
2. Compile information from a variety of academic resources to identify common themes in long-term population responses to disasters across cultures and across species and understand how and why responses are similar or different
3. Use a historical case study to explain orally how an environmental disaster has impacted a specific population of human and/or non-human primate
4. Critically analyze existing disaster relief plans
5. Use historical examples to predict how populations may be expected to respond to current natural disasters and use this information to determine possible effective relief plans

Midterm examination 20% (LO 1,4)

3500 word essay 25% (LO 1,2)

Tutorial presentation 20% (LO 3)

1500 word disaster relief plan 10%

1500 word online discussion 20% (250 words x 6 discussion entries; LO 5)

Tutorial participation 5% (LO 6)

Two hours of lectures and one hour of tutorials per week, and online tutorial

There are no prerequisites for this course

No prior knowledge of environmental disasters is required

The Angry Earth: Disaster in Anthropological Perspective. Anthony Oliver-Smith and Susanna Hoffman. 1999. Routledge Press.