Histories and Disasters

Short Paper on Histories and Disasters
ANTH 146, Due In Canvas Dropbox, November 1, 5 pm.

This paper requires you to find an environmental disaster reported in a newspaper article, and
then analyze it using concepts from political ecology, environmental justice, and disaster theory.
If you can find a disaster that affected your town, or somewhere you have lived, that would be
wonderful, but anywhere that appeals to your imagination is fine.

You will analyze how the disaster is described in the article, you will try to figure out what kinds
of people have been affected most by the disaster, and you will try to figure out the long term
histories which created vulnerability to disaster in the first place.

This is a four page paper so imagine that each paragraph is about half a page. You should
imagine that the first sentence of every paragraph summarizes the paragraph that is to follow,
and then check back with yourself at the end, and make sure that this is the case.

Suggested Structure
You don’t need headings, but it is good to imagine this structure in your head.

Introduction
Summarize your paper–one paragraph.

Problem Statement
1–2 paragraphs. What was the disaster, where was it, who did it affect?

Guessing at History
1–2 paragraphs. What was the long term social and natural history which produced the
vulnerability to disaster?

Analysis
1–2 paragraphs. Pick one or two key concepts from readings, and use them to make sense of this
disaster?

Conclusion
1 paragraph. What did you learn, and what other questions do you have?

Citations
This is not part of the page count. You may use any recognized citation method.


Paper Formatting Instructions
Please put your name on the paper!

Paper should be double spaced, 12 point font, standard margins.