1. Learning from nature-induced disasters : theoretical considerations and case studies from Western Europe / Christian Pfister -- 2. Disaster and political culture in Germany since 1500 / Franz Mauelshagen -- 3. Summer frost : a natural hazard with fatal consequences in preindustrial Finland / Timo Myllyntaus -- 4. Society and natural risks in France, 1500-2000 : changing historical perspectives / René Favier and Anne-Marie Granet-Abisset -- 5. Humanitarianism and colonialism : religious responses to the Algerian drought and famine of 1866-1870 / Bertrand Taithe -- 6. The floods of Baghdad : cultural and technological responses / Otfried Weintritt -- 7. Interpreting earthquakes in medieval Islamic texts / Anna A. Akasoy -- 8. Famine in Bengal : a comparison of the 1770 famine in Bengal and the 1897 famine in Chotanagpur / Vinita Damodaran -- 9. "Heaven-sent disasters" in late imperial China : the scope of the state and beyond / Andrea Janku -- 10. Cultures of disaster, cultures of coping : hazard as a frequent life experience in the Philippines / Greg Bankoff -- 11. The Paraná River floods during the Spanish colonial period : impact and responses / María del Rosario Prieto -- 12. Documenting disaster : archival investigations of climate, crisis, and catastrophe in colonial Mexico / Georgina H. Endfield ... [et al.] -- 13. American disasters during the twentieth century : the case of New Jersey / James K. Mitchell.
Summary:
"This collection of essays testifies to the profound impact that earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and other such events have had on humans throughout history in every part of the world. Several contributors argue that the experience of catastrophe has changed humans' behavior and perceptions over time without necessarily reducing their degree of exposure or risk. The book includes case studies from Western Europe, Scandinavia, Algeria, the Middle East, China, India, the Philippines, Argentina, Mexico, and the East Coast of the United States, ranging from the medieval through the modern period. While natural disasters occur around the globe, different cultures, societies, and regions have adopted specific methods and technologies for managing local hazards and for surviving catastrophic natural events. Indeed, how humans deal with catastrophes depends largely on social and cultural patterns, values, belief systems, political institutions, and economic structures. The roles that natural disasters play in society and the meanings they are given vary from one political and geographic space to the next. The essays collected here help us to understand not only how people across the centuries have learned to cope with disaster but also how communities in different parts of the world have developed cultural, social, and technological strategies for doing so."--BOOK JACKET.
Series:
The German Historical Institute studies in international environmental history
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.