History in the News: Earthquakes, Eclipses, Tsunamis, and Volcanoes: Can History Prepare us for the Unexpected?
Thursday, August 17, 2017 | 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Willamette Heritage Center | Dye House
Social media experts forecast that the total solar eclipse of August 21 will be “the most photographed, most shared, most tweeted event in human history,” while highway authorities predict that the days surrounding the eclipse could see the greatest temporary mass migration of humans to see a natural event in U.S. history.
Oregonians are steeling themselves for the arrival of perhaps a million visitors, and attendant stresses on highway, sanitation, and cell phone systems; the Governor has even called out the National Guard in advance to handle crowds, traffic, and fires.
Panelists:
- Christine Colasurdo: Artist, poet, and writer, author of Return to Spirit Lake: Life and Landscapes at Mt. St. Helens (2016) and contributor to In the Blast Zone: Catastrophe and Renewal on Mt. St. Helens (2008).
- Jay Pasachoff: Astronomer and Williams College Professor, and Chair of the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group on Eclipses and a veteran of 65 previous solar eclipses, who is also leading an observational team on the Willamette campus for the eclipse.
- Jason Younker: Anthropologist, Assistant Vice President and Advisor to the President on Sovereignty and Government to Government Relations at the University of Oregon, whose scholarship includes work on Coquille oral histories of tsunamis.
This History in the News panel considers the eclipse and other monumental natural phenomena such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis, in social and historical perspective.
How did people in our region anticipate and respond to such cataclysmic or cosmic events in the past? Did such events have long term effects on lives and landscapes here?
How have they been incorporated into the cultural memories and historical narratives of diverse communities? Does history offer us lessons on how to predict, and prepare for such occurrences?
History in the News is FREE and open to the public.
Moderated by Dr. Leslie Dunlap, History Department, American Ethnic Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies Programs
Location Information:
Willamette Heritage Center (Off Campus)
1313 Mill Street SE
Salem OR 97301
Contact Information:
Name: Leslie Dunlap
Email: ldunlap@willamette.edu
Admission / Ticket Info:
Free and Open to the public
Event Sponsor(s):
Willamette University History Department
Other Details:
Food and Beverage for sale provided by Taproot Café
Third Thursday of each month, March through November | 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm
March 16th, April 20th, May 18th, June 15th, July 20th, August 17th, September 21st, October 19th, and November 16th, 2017
Discuss current events in historical context at a monthly roundtable with Mid-Valley historians, political scientists, and other intellectuals. The topic of each discussion will be pulled straight from the headlines, and will be decided just 10 days before each event. Listen to the thoughts of experts, then join in the conversation and voice your own opinions.
This program was made possible in part by a grant from Oregon Humanities(OH), a statewide nonprofit organization and an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which funds OH’s grant program. History in the News is sponsored by KMUZ Community Radio, and in partnership with Salem City Club.
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This film is part of a film series offered in conjunction with the exhibition Behind the Beyond: Psychedelic Posters and Fashion in San Francisco, 1966−1971A taking place at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art between June 3 and August 27, 2017.
