FRS 001L - Sec. 001 - (1 unit) - CRN 75084 - T 1:10 – 2:00 pm - 25 Wellman
Volcanoes and Their Influence on Human Culture and Civilization

Instructor: Peter Schiffman, Department of Geology, College of Letters and Science

Description: Volcanoes and especially large volcanic eruptions have influenced humans, their resources, their culture, and perhaps - in certain circumstances - even the course of their civilizations. In this seminar we will examine some key eruptions (e.g., Santorini, ca.1620 BC, Vesuvius in AD 79, Tambora in 1815, Krakatau in 1883) and their impact on humans. We will also examine how human traditions, religions, and cultural practices have evolved and been affected by volcanism in volcanically active localities such as the Hawaiian Islands, Iceland, Western North America, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, and New Zealand. It is my hope these students will gain an appreciation for some natural processes (i.e., volcanism and volcanic eruptions) and the impact of these processes on humans and their cultural infrastructure. I especially hope that this seminar may get more freshmen interested in thinking about science and natural processes in a more synthetic and integrative fashion, something which they probably have never been exposed to before.

Format: The seminar will meet for one hour each week for 10 weeks. If I can schedule a half day field trip to the Sutter Buttes volcano during the quarter, I will reduce the number of regular class meetings to 7 or 8. There will be no formal text. I will prepare a small reader for the students, incorporating material from text books and the research literature. Students who lead topical seminars will be assigned additional reading. I will present an introductory lecture on basic principals of volcanology for our first class meeting. For the second class meeting, I will lead the discussion on the topic for that week. In subsequent weeks, small groups (of 2 or 3 students) will be responsible for leading the discussion section. Students will also write a short paper (400-500 words) on an approved topic. Grading: Students will be given a letter grade based on the quality of their participation - their ability to lead and participate in class discussions (30 and 20% respectively) and the quality of their written contribution (50%).

About the Instructor: I am a Professor of Geology who specializes in the study of volcanic rocks. In my 25 years as a researcher, I have studied active and fossil volcanoes from California, Cyprus, Oman, the Canary Islands, New Zealand, Australia, and from the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Most recently, my field studies take me to Hawaii and Iceland. At UCD, I teach about volcanoes to non-scientists (GEL 32) as well as upper-division Geology majors (GEL 138, in Hawaii). My current research on historic explosive eruptions at Kilauea Volcano (pre-1790) has made me much more aware of (and interested in) the direct impact that volcanic eruptions can have on human events.