HIST-3625H: Famine in Modern History

Instructor: Olga Andriewsky (oandriewsky@trentu.ca)

Course Code: HIST-3625H:

When Taken: Winter 2023

Major Presentation: Amartya Sen – Famine Presentation

Course Notes: Famine in Modern History

This was a third year seminar course which discussed a different historical famine as a case study each week. Each of the famines were examined through the theory of Malthus, and Sen, who have opposing beliefs on why famines occur. The class concluded by arguing that Sen’s theory was more in line with modern famines, as they are caused not by a lack of food, but by the inability of some people to access sufficient amounts of food.

My takeaway from this class was how people in power can use natural disasters, such as droughts or disease, to implement their political agendas and deprive groups which they perceive to be “other” from sufficient amounts of food. In our case studies this happened repeatedly, through both the government taking insufficient action to avert issues with the food supply, to the government taking a concerted effort to prevent certain parts of the population from accessing food. This demonstrates that famines are not something that simply happen, but rather they are a phenomenon that is caused. As they are caused, this gives me hope that they can be avoided, if those in power wish to prevent them.