FRS 002 — Sec. 017 — (2 unit) — CRN 92628 — T 2:10-4:00pm — 175A Phy/Geo
The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Revisited

Instructor: Kenneth Verosub, Department of Geology, College of Letters & Science

Description: April 18, 2006 marks the centennial of the great San Francisco earthquake. Much has been written about what happened during and after this earthquake and much has been learned about dealing with natural disasters from this and subsequent earthquakes in California. However, the pain and suffering caused by the December 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 and by the October 2005 earthquake in Kashmir suggest that perhaps we didn’t learn all that we could have learned from the San Francisco earthquake or that we neglected the lessons that we had already learned from that earthquake. In this seminar, we will first look in detail at what happened in the San Francisco earthquake. We will then look at the terrible outcomes associated with the more recent events and at the administrative failures that led to those outcomes. Our ultimate goal will be to determine if the San Francisco earthquake can tell us anything more about what we could do or should do to mitigate the impact of a tsunami, a hurricane or another earthquake. The primary goal for student learning will be to show how major recent news events can be put into a broader social and historical context. A secondary goal will be for students to discover how people’s lives can be affected significantly by the way we choose to prepare for and respond to natural events. Both of these goals will help first-year students to understand the importance of looking critically and analytically at the world around them.

Format: The class will be taught as an informal discussion. At times the instructor will lead the discussion; at other times, the students will lead or will make more formal presentations. The only prerequisite for the seminar is a desire to learn more about the topic; students are not expected to have extensive prior knowledge about natural disasters, politics or history. Students will be expected to do web-based research on key topics and to work in teams to analyze and synthesize their information. They will also be expected to make group presentations of their findings and conclusions. Grading: Half of the grade will be based on the extent and quality of participation in the class discussions. The other half of the grade will be based on the quality of oral group presentations.

About the Instructor: Ken Verosub is a professor in the Geology Department and the former director of the Davis Honors Challenge. He has been involved for more than thirty years with disaster preparedness and emergency planning. For many years, he taught a general interest course at UCD on earthquakes and volcanoes and currently teaches a course that explores the many ways that geology has affected the lives of people and the course of human history