Cindy Ermus - Böcker

Hurricanes, floods, oil spills, disease, and disappearing wetlands are some of the many environmental disasters that impact the Gulf South. The contributors to Environmental Disaster in the Gulf South explore the threat, frequency, and management of this region's disasters from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Scholars from the fields of history, sociology, and anthropology examine the underlying causes of vulnerability to natural hazards in the coastal states while also suggesting ways to increase resilience.Greg O'Brien considers the New Orleans flood of 1849; Andy Horowitz, the Galveston storm of 1900; and Christopher M. Church, the 1928 hurricane in Florida and the Caribbean. Urmi Engineer Willoughby delves into the turn-of-the-century yellow fever outbreaks in New Orleans and local attempts to eradicate them, while Abraham H. Gibson and Cindy Ermus discuss the human introduction of invasive species and their long-term impact on the region's ecosystem. Roberto E. Barrios looks at political-ecological susceptibility in New Orleans's Lower Ninth Ward, and Kevin Fox Gotham treats storm- and flood-defense infrastructures. In his afterword, Ted Steinberg ponders what the future holds when the capitalist state supports an unwinnable battle between land developers and nature.These case studies offer new ways of understanding humans' interactions with the unique, and at times unforgiving, environment of the Gulf South. These lessons are particularly important as we cope with the effects of climate change and seek to build resilience and reduce vulnerability through enhanced awareness, adequate preparation, and efficient planning.

Redrawing the map and resetting the clock of the Age of RevolutionsIn 2015, Bryan Banks and Cindy Ermus launched AgeofRevolutions.com, a site offering critical reconsideration of the foundational concept of revolution and centered on three key questions: What was the Age of Revolutions? Where was the Age of Revolutions? And are we still living in an Age of Revolutions? This collection represents the best of scholars' answers to these expansive, urgent questions. Throughout, contributors place the revolutionary era within a larger and more fluid context of global interconnections, situating it within multiple overlapping narratives of resistance and transformation and encouraging a more nuanced and expansive conception of revolution across time and space. They challenge traditional understandings that placed the Age of Revolutions between the years 1775 and 1848 and that confined it to Europe and the Atlantic world. Instead, this volume demonstrates that the Age of Revolutions began much earlier in the eighteenth century and continues through the present day and across the globe—from Haiti to Hong Kong. Collectively, these field-defining essays explore the implications of this new understanding of the concept, offering snapshots of the diverse nature of revolutionary change across all continents.

Redrawing the map and resetting the clock of the Age of RevolutionsIn 2015, Bryan Banks and Cindy Ermus launched AgeofRevolutions.com, a site offering critical reconsideration of the foundational concept of revolution and centered on three key questions: What was the Age of Revolutions? Where was the Age of Revolutions? And are we still living in an Age of Revolutions? This collection represents the best of scholars' answers to these expansive, urgent questions. Throughout, contributors place the revolutionary era within a larger and more fluid context of global interconnections, situating it within multiple overlapping narratives of resistance and transformation and encouraging a more nuanced and expansive conception of revolution across time and space. They challenge traditional understandings that placed the Age of Revolutions between the years 1775 and 1848 and that confined it to Europe and the Atlantic world. Instead, this volume demonstrates that the Age of Revolutions began much earlier in the eighteenth century and continues through the present day and across the globe—from Haiti to Hong Kong. Collectively, these field-defining essays explore the implications of this new understanding of the concept, offering snapshots of the diverse nature of revolutionary change across all continents.

This Element explores the history of urban disasters around the globe over the last three-hundred years. It introduces the reader to central concepts that help define the study of disasters, then moves on to explore the relationship between cities and disasters including earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, and epidemics. It asks, for example: How have cities responded in times of crisis, and what practices, infrastructures, and/or institutions have they introduced to prevent disasters from reoccurring? Who suffers most when urban disasters strike, and why? In what ways do catastrophes change cities? How, if at all, are cities unique from the countryside? To answer these questions and more, this concise history looks at a series of case studies from the eighteenth century through to COVID-19. The Element concludes with a brief look at the ongoing effects of climate change and the future of cities.

From 1720 to 1722, the French region of Provence and surrounding areas experienced one of the last major epidemics of plague to strike Western Europe. The Plague of Provence was a major disaster that left in its wake as many as 126,000 deaths, as well as new understandings about the nature of contagion and the best ways to manage its threat. In this transnational study, Cindy Ermus focuses on the social, commercial, and diplomatic impact of the epidemic beyond French borders, examining reactions to this public health crisis from Italy to Great Britain to Spain and the overseas colonies. She reveals how a crisis in one part of the globe can transcend geographic boundaries and influence society, politics, and public health policy in regions far from the epicentre of disaster.