plague

Aliases: 
pest

Dancing with Disaster: Environmental Histories, Narratives and Ethics for Perilous Times

Kate Rigby examines a variety of past disasters, from the Black Death of the Middle Ages to the mega-hurricanes of the twenty-first century, revealing the dynamic interaction of diverse human and nonhuman factors in their causation, unfolding, and aftermath. Focusing on the link between the ways disasters are framed by the stories told about them and how people tend to respond to them in practice, Rigby also shows how works of narrative fiction invite ethical reflection on human relations with one another, with our often unruly earthly environs, and with other species in the face of eco-catastrophe.

About the exhibition

About the exhibition

In “Another Silent Spring,” historian Donald Worster explains how human relations with other animals, wild and domestic, is at the core of a majority of epidemics.

Trade-offs

Trade-offs

In “Another Silent Spring,” historian Donald Worster explains how human relations with other animals, wild and domestic, is at the core of a majority of epidemics.

Epidemics and ecology

Epidemics and ecology

In “Another Silent Spring,” historian Donald Worster explains how human relations with other animals, wild and domestic, is at the core of a majority of epidemics.

“The people had done it themselves”

“The people had done it themselves”

In “Another Silent Spring,” historian Donald Worster explains how human relations with other animals, wild and domestic, is at the core of a majority of epidemics.

Copyright information

Copyright information

In “Another Silent Spring,” historian Donald Worster explains how human relations with other animals, wild and domestic, is at the core of a majority of epidemics.

Invasion of the Cane Toad in Australia

As cane-growers in Gordonvale grew concerned about crop damage caused by French cane beetles, Australia’s Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations decided to introduce the cane toad to Australia, where it soon became a plague.

History of the Plague

These articles look at the historical sources that may help to trace the spread of the Plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, considering how it spread from East Asia to other parts of the world.