Jonathan Bergman\u2019s article \u201cDisaster: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis,\u201d traces the development of the study of disaster. His approach to the discipline is broader than our class\u2019s focus on natural disasters, encompassing \u201csupernatural occurrences\u201d (934).\u00a0 This difference in understanding of the parameters of a disaster touches on the difficultly in defining a disaster, which we experienced firsthand in class.\u00a0 Bergman touches on this on page 935 of this article.<\/p>\n

Bergman points out the multidisciplinary nature of disaster studies, presenting scholars who have approached it through historical, sociological and ecological approaches, among others.\u00a0 This multidisciplinary nature adds to the difficulty in creating a universal definition of disaster, by bringing in many different scholars who have differing opinions, adding to the controversy.\u00a0 However, disaccord surrounding definitions is a not unique to the study of disasters, it is also present in other fields, such as genocide studies.\u00a0 He briefly examines many secondary works, drawing on a broad spectrum of disasters and the literature surrounding them, to illustrate his points.<\/p>\n

Bergman mentioned several articles that illustrate how disasters highlight and aggravate the fissures in society, which substantiates the point that was made in class yesterday.\u00a0 One example that Bergman cited was the socioeconomic and racial components of the decision to open levies in the aftermath of Katrina to save the property and assists of the more wealthy neighborhoods.\u00a0 However, he does mention that a buffer of a certain period of time is needed between the event being studied and the scholar who is studying it, which is an idea that is pertinent point to the study of history as a discipline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jonathan Bergman\u2019s article \u201cDisaster: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis,\u201d traces the development of the study of disaster. His approach to the discipline is broader than our class\u2019s focus on natural disasters, encompassing \u201csupernatural occurrences\u201d (934).\u00a0 This difference in understanding of the parameters of a disaster touches on the difficultly in defining a disaster, which … <\/p>\n

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