The age of catastrophe : disaster and humanity in modern times / John David Ebert.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ebert, John David, 1968-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Disasters--History--20th century.

Disasters.

Disasters--History--21st century.

Disasters--Social aspects--History--20th century.

Disasters--Social aspects--History--21st century.

Civilization, Modern--20th century.

Civilization, Modern.

Civilization, Modern--21st century.

Disasters--Social aspects.

History.

Physical Description:

viii, 222 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2012.

Summary:

"Disasters, both natural and man-made, are on the rise. Indeed, a catastrophe of one sort or another seems always to be unfolding somewhere on this planet. This book analyzes the efforts of Westerners to keep the catastrophes outside, while maintaining order on the inside of society"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: The End of Natural Disasters

A Brief Note: Civilization's Loss of Command Over Its Environment

Part I: Disasters of Paleomodernity

One. The Sinking of the Titanic and the Fate of the Mobile City

Two. On the Hindenburg Disaster and the Technologization of the Soul's Descent to Earth

Part II: Disasters of Neomodernity

Three. The Plane Crash at Tenerife : What It Unconceals

Four. The Disaster at Bhopal and the Collision of the Biosphere with the Chemosphere

Five. Being-Outside-the-World : Thoughts on the Space Shuttle Disasters

Six. Back from History : Some Implications Regarding the Accident at Chernobyl

Seven. The Amsterdam Cargo Plane Crash and the Derailment at Eschede : Parallel Accidents

Eight. The Aum Shinrikyo Nerve Gas Attacks As an Attempt to Recode Japanese Society

Nine. The Columbine Shootings and the Absence of Meaning

Part III: Planetary Scale Disasters

Ten. On the September 11 Terrorist Attacks

Eleven. Hurricane Katrina and the Flooding of New Orleans

Twelve. Sichuan, 2008 : The First Man-Made Earthquake

Thirteen. A Satellite Collision in the Exosphere : Some Ontological Consequences

Fourteen. Tiny Blue Globe : Ressections on the British Petroleum Oil Spill

Fifteen. On the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, Tsunami and Fukushima Meltdown

Postscript: Global Accident

Appendix: A Disaster Timeline.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780786471423

0786471425

OCLC:

793581418