| Unit name | Calamities: People and 'Natural' Disasters in Modern Asia |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST30135 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Dan Haines |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
N/A |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
Our Special Fields give you the opportunity to work at an advanced level alongside a single academic and a specialist area of research. Intensively taught through seminars only, they are designed to provide you with hands-on experience of how knowledge is produced in the discipline of History.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Our Special Fields involve the application of the full spectrum of core historical competencies within a narrower field of study. In this sense, they are designed to prepare you to undertake independent research for yourself by showing you how practicing historians work with sources, historiographies, methodologies, and concepts within a particular specialism.
An overview of content
India and its neighbourhood can be a place of extremes. Rivers burst their banks to flood huge tracts of land. Earthquakes have literally shaken the foundations of society, economy and politics. Governments have imposed stringent social controls in the face of epidemic disease. But what lies behind the news headlines? How do people experience events like these? This unit examines the causes and consequences of ‘natural’ disasters in South Asia (a region including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka). It asks how and why disasters occur, and explores their wider cultural, social and political ramifications. The unit uses diverse primary sources including texts and photographs, introducing different approaches to studying the way that humans have interacted with volatile environments. It draws on an equally diverse range of secondary readings, taking in not only history but also related disciplines like human geography, anthropology and development studies, including very recent case studies. Along the way, the unit introduces students to important historical themes including social and political change, beliefs and attitudes, and the consequences of modernisation and economic development. The unit surveys moments of catastrophe that have helped to define relationships between people and their environments and connects modern history to the present-day crises of climate and environment.
How will you be different as a result of this unit?
Special Field units will enhance your capacity to build arguments with primary sources, properly located within appropriate theories, concepts, methods, and historiographies.
Learning Outcomes:
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Classes will involve a combination of class discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Essay, 3,500-word (50%) [ILOs 1-5].
Timed Assessment (50%) [ILOs 1-5].
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the format or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are confirmed by the School/Centre shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HIST30135).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
