Article Discussion — Diamond’s Theory of Collapse, “natural disaster”, and the recent collapse of Syria
There is discussion among scientists and philosophers as to the validity of the term “natural disaster”. Some question whether the term should be applied as readily as it is to any sort of catastrophic interaction between the natural world and the human world. You will use what you have learned to explain/critique the recent collapse of Syria.
Directions:
For this assignment, you are to do the following:
1. Read/listen to the articles listed below. Take notes. Click on the provided hyperlinks to take you to the articles. You are required to reference all of the articles listed below:
Wells. 2017. There is No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster AnymoreDownload Wells. 2017. There is No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster Anymore
Diamond. 2005. “Collapse” Ch. 14: Why some societies make disastrous decisionsDownload Diamond. 2005. “Collapse” Ch. 14: Why some societies make disastrous decisions
Gleick. 2014. Water, drought, climate change, and conflict in SyriaDownload Gleick. 2014. Water, drought, climate change, and conflict in Syria
Kelley et al. 2016. Climate change in the Fertile Crescent and implications of the recent Syrian droughtDownload Kelley et al. 2016. Climate change in the Fertile Crescent and implications of the recent Syrian drought
If you are not certain on how to read a scientific paper, here is a helpful resource to give you some hints: How to (seriously) read a scientific paperLinks to an external site.
Articles must be properly cited with in-text citations. Here is a video to help if you’re not sure how to cite in APA format:
2. Analyze the points you collected from the articles. Focus on sections where you can make connections to Diamond’s five-point framework. Here is a link to the video we watched at the beginning of the semester to refresh your memory:
3. Using Diamond’s five-points, analyze the following questions/assumptions about the factors leading to Syria’s recent collapse:
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- Keeping Diamond’s Theory in mind, analyze the argument that the recent Syrian collapse was caused by drought only.
- What role did climate change play in Syria’s collapse?
- How did dysfunctional societal factors increase the likelihood that Syria was more susceptible to climate related disturbance?
4. Write a short 1 page (roughly 450-500 words) analysis where you discuss the prompts above. I recommend that you open a word processing program like Word or Google Docs to write out your assignment and then “cut and paste” your response to Canvas.
- Spacing: Single-spaced
- Font: Times New Roman
- Font size: 12 pt
- Margins: 1-inch on all sides
- Papers need to be written using proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
- Worth 30 points.