AD3052 - Disasters and Catastrophes: Human Responses to Crisis

What will I learn on this module?

This module introduces you to how societies in the past have responded to, and dealt with, shocks, hazards, and disasters. The module focuses on ‘natural’ or ‘biophysical’ disasters such as floods, earthquakes, storms and disease epidemics, as well as slower catastrophes that take place over longer time periods, such as droughts and changes in climates.

You will learn about how human attitudes, actions and decisions could sometimes mitigate the worst effects of disasters and sometimes make them worse. Through the course of the module, you will gain a richer appreciation of why such events are worth studying, what they can tell us about past societies and how they might help us respond to present and future disasters in more effective and just ways. Using insights from the field known as ‘environmental history’, we will consider how disasters and catastrophes can reveal larger forces and trends in past human cultures and societies. Some groups of people are more vulnerable to disaster than others, and catastrophes at times reinforced and made visible the inequalities and divisions – for instance, of race, class and gender – in a society.

The module will introduce and cover a range of natural disasters from a variety of places and periods in history, from iconic events such as the 1930s Dust Bowl to less well-known episodes which are worth bringing into the spotlight. Among the case studies you may study are the impacts of eruptions of volcanoes in the early nineteenth century, the ‘little ice age’ of early modernity, earthquakes in eighteenth-century enlightenment Europe, plagues in the Ottoman Middle East, and droughts in modern Australia. Although other kinds of crisis, such as political instability and economic disruption, are not the focus of the module, attention is given to the ways in which these human disasters can interact with and exacerbate the effects of natural world catastrophes.

How will I learn on this module?

You will learn on this module by attending lectures and seminars. The lectures will introduce you to a particular case and its wider historical context. You will deepen your understanding of the case studies and the module themes and questions through weekly seminars, which are based on independent reading that is undertaken in preparation to the seminar sessions. Seminar discussions will incorporate both larger and smaller group discussions, built around focused questions on relevant themes and topics. Seminars will also include significant engagement with carefully selected primary sources. You will receive formative (i.e., non-assessed) feedback throughout the learning process and summative assessment (i.e., assessed and credit-bearing assessment) will match your learning against the learning outcomes for the module.

How will I be supported academically on this module?

Your academic development will be supported through your module tutor, engagement with your peers, and through the programme leader. The module tutor will be accessible within publicised Feedback and Consultation hours and via email. Your peers will provide you with a collaborative learning environment, and your programme leader will guide you through the requirements and expectations of your programme, of which this module is part. You will also be supported through individual engagement with the academic literature, lectures, and resources available on the electronic learning portal (BlackBoard). Formative (i.e., non-assessed) feedback will occur throughout the module, through seminar activities and assessment tasks.

What will I be expected to read on this module?

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

What will I be expected to achieve?

Knowledge & Understanding:
1. Demonstrate an introductory level understanding of the concepts and methods associated with disaster studies
2. Display an ability to analyse historical events relating to different periods, places, and types of disaster

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
3. Engage with scholarly texts, concepts and methods
4. Communicate your findings and ideas in writing and in a way that conforms to academic expectations

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
5. Show an introductory awareness of the connections between human responses to disasters and catastrophes in the past and the present

How will I be assessed?

This module is assessed by one primary-source discussion of 500 words (weighted at 25%; MLO 1-5) and one essay of 1,500 words (weighted at 75%; MLO 1-5).

Pre-requisite(s)

N/A

Co-requisite(s)

N/A

Module abstract

All human societies have had to contend with disasters and catastrophes. Accounts of plagues, earthquakes and droughts, and other crises that seemed ‘natural’, feature in historical documents from ancient times to the present. This module introduces you to how societies in the past have responded to, and dealt with, shocks, hazards, and disasters. The module focuses on ‘natural’ or ‘biophysical’ disasters such as floods, earthquakes, storms and epidemics of disease, as well as slower catastrophes that take place over longer time periods, such as droughts and changes in climates. You will learn about how human attitudes, actions and decisions could sometimes mitigate the worst effects of disasters and sometimes make them worse. Through the course of the module, you will gain a richer appreciation of why such events are worth studying and what they can tell us about past societies. The module allows you to study a range of natural disasters from a variety of places and periods in history.

Course info

UCAS Code Z008

Credits 20

Level of Study Undergraduate

Mode of Study 4 years Full Time or 5 years with a placement (sandwich)/study abroad

School Humanities and Social Sciences

Location City Campus, Northumbria University

City Newcastle

Start September 2026

Fee Information

Module Information

History (Extended Degree) BA (Hons)

All information is accurate at the time of sharing. 

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Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.

 

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