SOCIOLOGY 350.001 SOCIOLOGY OF DISASTERS
SPRING 2013
Jacksonville State University
Department of Sociology and Social Work
College of Arts and Sciences
Professor: Erin Rider Class Meeting Time: TR 12:45-2:15 Office: Brewer Hall 327 Classroom: Brewer Hall 330 Office Hours: Mon/Wed 11:00-1:00; Tues/Thurs 8:00-11:00; and by appt.
Office Phone: 256-782-8477
Email: erider@jsu.edu
Required Texts:
Dyson, M. 2005. Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster. New York:
Basic Civitas Books.
Fothergill, A. 2004. Heads Above Water: Gender, Class, and Family in the Grand Forks Flood. New
York: State University of New York Press.
* Plus one of the following texts:
Erickson, K. 1978. Everything in Its Path: Destruction of Community in the Buffalo Creek Flood.
New York: Simon and Shuster.
Kingston, J. 2012. Natural Disaster and Nuclear Crisis in Japan: Response and Recovery after
Japan’s 3/11. New York: Routledge.
* Additional readings will be required, and will be available via Blackboard.
Blackboard: Blackboard is required to be used by students to keep track of their course progress, receive announcements, and access any additional course material.
Course Description: Sociology of Disasters (3). Prerequisite: SY 221 or 222. This course applies a sociological perspective to trace the study of disasters, emphasizing how social inequalities constitute varying degrees of risk and destruction throughout the pre-impact and post-disaster stages. This course examines social structure and social processes as they interact with disaster conditions.
Course Objectives:
1. For students to comprehend how social structure, process, and conditions constitute and interact with disasters.
2. For students to investigate...