Charleston, Annotated Bibliography Example

Bures, R., & Kanapaux, W. (2011). Historical Regimes and Social Indicators of Resilience in an Urban System: the Case of Charleston, South Carolina. Ecology & Society, 16(4), 1-11.

In order to understand how coastal urban systems react to shock and disruption, the researchers looked at how the society of Charleston has changed due to hurricanes and other phenomena. The results of the study are interpreted to apply to other coastal urban areas. The conclusion is that present resilience to an event comes at the cost of resilience to future events.

Joyce, D. (2010). Charleston’s Irish labourers and their move into the Confederacy. Irish Studies Review, 18(2), 185. doi:10.1080/09670881003725903

This paper examines why Irish immigrants to Charleston in the late 1800s joined the Confederacy in the U.S. Civil War. The immigrants were largely poor and displaced. The author concludes that they joined because of their past experiences, current social relations, and sense of identity. In part, Charleston’s Irish workers brought the memory of social exclusion with them to America and struggled to write a different history on Southern soil.

Lewis, S. (2009). Slavery, memory, and the history of the “Atlantic now”: Charleston, South Carolina and global racial/economic hierarchy. Journal Of Postcolonial Writing, 45(2), 125-135. doi:10.1080/17449850902819904

The author argues that knowledge of African-American slavery has been suppressed in Charleston. This suppression is ironic because the port of Charleston was the largest port of entry during the slave trade. The author concludes that current efforts are helping to spread education about the slave trade, but Charleston has much to uncover that has been buried by past historians.

Wilson, S. M., Fraser-Rahim, H., Williams, E., Zhang, H., Rice, L., Svendsen, E., & Abara, W. (2012). Assessment of the Distribution of Toxic Release Inventory Facilities in Metropolitan Charleston: An Environmental Justice Case Study. American Journal Of Public Health, 102(10), 1974-1980. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.300700

Researchers studying the proximity of Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Facilities found that lower socio-economic status (SES) levels and lower density of white residents in any given area was correlated with an increase in TRI facilities. The researchers noted the disparity in exposure to hazardous elements based on race and SES but stated that further research is needed to determine the cause of the disparity.

Zierden, M. (2010). Landscape and Social Relations at Charleston Townhouse Sites (1770-1850). International Journal Of Historical Archaeology, 14(4), 527-546.

The author examines the physical layout of Charleston townhomes. These homes had elaborate facades and formal gardens facing the public streets. However, in the rear, the service facilities of the house and slave quarters were hidden from view. Zierden argues that the townhomes represented the segregation between owner and slave that permeated Charleston culture.