A New Species of Trouble: The Human Experience of Modern Disasters

by Kai Theodor Erikson

Book Overview

Unlike earthquakes and other natural catastrophes, this new species of trouble afflicts persons and groups in particularly disruptive ways.

With clear-eyed compassion, in vivid narrative and in participants' own words, Kai Erikson describes how certain communities have faced such disasters. He shows conclusively that new attention must be paid to their experiences if people are to maintain elementary confidence not only in themselves but in...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393313190
• ISBN13: 9780393313192
• Release Date: July 1995
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Book review

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A New Take on Disaster Sociology

From the offset, A New Species of Trouble is an atypical approach for an academic work. Rather than an explicit thesis and clear connections that lead the reader from one set of evidence to the next, Erikson presents a series of fairly disparate case studies, leaving it to the reader to draw the connections. This is a reasonable burden, because Erikson is a vivid writer, pointing out the most pertinent aspects. Beyond this offbeat approach, Erikson takes issue with several of the key assumptions in disaster studies. First among these is the definition of disaster: rather than the sudden, temporary events that characterize disaster literature, Erikson examines gnawing, progressing hazards. These are disasters of a sort; Erikson presents them causing similar trauma to victims and similar disruption of society, without attracting the attention of a hurricane or explosion. Some of these are more convincing than others: contamination by leaking toxins or mercury in water supplies are clearly disastrous in scope and gravity, as is the forced relocation of Ojibwe indians, resulting in the collapse of societal norms. Even the betrayal of trust, as seen in the Immokalee embezzlement case or in Three Mile Island can be seen having disaster consequences. But is the incidence of homelessness structural in our economic system disastrous? Erikson's case studies provoke many other, less central presumptions in the study of disaster. What is trauma? What is toxicity, and does it have a social component? What are the values of social relationships? Each of these is addressed more implicitly than explicitly, but provoke innovative thinking. His conclusions are anything but conclusive, but Erikson is asking good questions.

Adam's Review

Kai Erikson has compiled an excellent view of human suffering in his book A New Species of Trouble. Erikson is able to bring out the deepest effects that tragedy has on people with his meaningful narratives and the numerous excerpts from people involved in these tragedies. What makes Erikson's stories so powerful is that the suffering experienced by the various people was from human causes. As Erikson states, "It is clear...that people who are victimized by such events feel a special measure of distress when they come to think that their affliction was caused by other human beings." (p. 129) Erikson writes two stories, "The Ojibwa of Grassy Narrows" and "The View from East Swallow," in which careless companies created environmental damage that resulted in human suffering. The reservation of Grassy Narrows was affected by high amounts of mercury being dumped into the nearby river from a paper and pulp plant. "The View from East Swallow" is about a petroleum leak under a neighborhood created by a gas company's incompetence. Although these are inherent environmental problems, Erikson focuses on the psychological and social effects of the catastrophes on their victims. These effects are also the theme in the rest of the accounts. In "The Haitians of Immokalee," Erikson incorporates the outcry of recent immigrants who had their earnings stolen from them by the company they worked for. Erikson also has three stories, "Three Mile Island," "Hiroshima" and "Yucca Mountain," that deal with the dangers of nuclear power, bombs and waste. Although all these previous stories are of great importance, the one that struck me deepest was "Being Homeless." I would like to expand on Erikson's ideas about homelessness because it is a worldwide epidemic that we know the cure for and therefore should be cured. I also think it deserves more attention since it is a problem that affects Madison. I was thankful that Erikson brought up homelessness in A New Species of Trouble, because it allows for the message to be sent out that homelessness is not a problem that can be looked over by those fortunate enough to have shelter. Erikson writes about how the face of homelessness is changing in the US by saying that "Almost 40 percent of the new homeless...are women and children, a striking change." (p. 162) He also states that the current cause of people becoming homeless is "Because they lose out in the competition for a shrinking supply of low-income housing." (p. 165) I have some elementary experience with both of these ideas from a class I took my freshman year. In African-American Contemporary Society, the professor Michael Thornton made the theme of the class affordable housing. It was also a service-learning class in which we were required to help out at a local organization that aided homeless people. The experience and knowledge I gained from the class allows me to analyze the problem of homelessness in Madison. I did my service at CASPER, wh

Read this book!

This book is really awesome. An easy read and very informing

Cultural integrity, core of community structure ia at risk.

Each of the case examples given has thoroughly been researched and studied to provide compelling evidence of the social relationship between community, impact and the blow which begins the troubles for each community visited. Correctly characterized by Erikson as, "A New Species of Trouble", gives our society an opportunity to understand the force and impact of contemporary technology on very real human beings. Mandatory reading for anyone interested in better understanding and maintaining their humanity in our very troubled world.