Identifier

etd-04102014-114955

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Geography and Anthropology

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Inherently resilient practices are one mechanism that communities engage in to cope with disruptive events. A community retains and passes down the practices associated with inherent resilience in their collective memory. The inherent resilience of a community is developed over time, yet the explanation provided by Colten et al. lacks a genesis of how this process developed particularly in relation to the oil industry’s entry into Louisiana. The foundations of these practices will be explored through historic court documents to find encounters between oystermen and oil spills. In addition to legal resources, I also investigate newspaper articles and other historic sources to trace legal responses and public perceptions. Through these documents, I link the responses to oil spills that occurred in the 1970s studied by Colten and others with the events that occurred in the 1930s with new economic force of the oil industry. By identifying the emergence of the inherent resilience practices, this work will reveal how social groups cope with new hazards. The initial response will help researchers further understand how cultures have adapted overtime to hazards. The processes employed at the local level in response to a hazard event are critical in understanding and developing policy to mitigate future hazards.

Date

2014

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Colten, Craig

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.2387

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