JAN 23: INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE: WHAT IS A DISASTER?  WHAT CONSTITUTES HISTORY?  HOW DO THE TWO INTERSECT?

FEB 6: PLATE TECTONICS: A CONCISE INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCE OF SEISMIC EVENTS (with guest instructor/discussant Prof. Jonathan Gourley)

A cool animation of data on earthquakes that occurred around the Japanese archipelago during 2011.

FEB 13: DISASTER IN AN AGE OF NATION BUILDING, EMPIRE, AND MODERNITY: THE EVENTS OF 1891,1896,1923, AND 1933

FEB 20: KOBE, 1/17/1995: THE DISASTER AT THE END OF THE BUBBLE AND THE LESSONS LEARNED

To get a better sense of what the disaster actually looked like in its early stages, we viewed three videos.

The first footage of the destruction (taken from helicopter) to be broadcast on the morning national news – almost 3 hours after the earthquake that caused it.

A documentary that aired on Kobe local TV in January of this year, featuring home video of the aftermath taken by a municipal employee.

Another documentary segment featuring home video o the early aftermath.  We noted in particular the “six hour vacuum” effect that seemed to be discernible in the reactions of the people that appear in the video.