The metropolis has always been the focal point of disaster imaginaries in the fictional realm. Think about how many times New York City has been hit by a Flood, struck by a meteor or taken hostage by a giant monster. This seminar seeks to critically investigate the ways in which disaster narratives correspond with narratives of human-interest stories, resilience, and post-disaster investigations and recriminations in various literary works. Students are expected to purchase Eric Drooker’s Flood! A Novel in Pictures (2010); N. K. Jemisin’s The City We Became (2020); and Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones (2011).