Notable Famines across Time: Nexus of Weather, Plants, & People
Historical perspective of the environmental and political causes of famine
Funding for this project (# 2016-07259) was provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Higher Education Challenge (HEC) grant program. This project is in collaboration with the University of Arkansas, Texas Tech University, and The Borlaug Institute at Texas A&M University.
Overview
This module provides a perspective on the environmental and geopolitical factors that contribute to famine. Numerous historical famines are reviewed providing the details of how the famine began and if there were other contributing factors that exacerbated the disaster. Organizations addressing famine and methods to remediate its impact are also included.
Objectives
- Student will be able to identify the major causes of famine
- Student will be able to list several major famines across time
- Student will be able to discuss ways to prevent and or remediate famine in the future
Level of Instruction
Graduate
Learner Prerequisite Knowledge
Basic understanding of what a famine is.
Instructor Preparation/Notes
A quick scan of current events to determine where famine is occurring during the course.
Instructions
Learner time required: 5 hours including videos, reading content, and assignments
Watch the video presentation provided for an overview. Read and review the provided learning content from the URL’s provided. Watch the video’s listed and then complete the test over the materials.
Learning Materials
Videos:
- Introduction to the Module on Famine
- Notable Famines Across Time Learning Module
- Notable Famines Across Time RLO
Assessment – take the self-assessment exam at the end of the video
Additional Materials and Resources
Creative Commons Attribution:
Attribution-NonCommercial–ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)
Cynthia McKenney
Ph.D., RD
Rockwell Endowed Professor of Horticulture
Associate Chair for the Department of Plant and Soil Science
Texas Tech University