Natural Disasters And Cultural Responses

Author : Christof Mauch,Christian Pfister
Publisher : Lexington Books
Page : 395 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2009-03-16
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9780739134610

Get Book

Natural Disasters, Cultural Responses by Christof Mauch,Christian Pfister Pdf

Catastrophes, it seems, are becoming more frequent in the twenty-first century. According to UN statistics, every year approximately two hundred million people are directly affected by natural disasters_seven times the number of people who are affected by war. Discussions about global warming and fatal disasters such as Katrina and the Tsunami of 2004 have heightened our awareness of natural disasters and of their impact on both local and global communities. Hollywood has also produced numerous disaster movies in recent years, some of which have become blockbusters. This volume demonstrates that natural catastrophes_earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, etc._have exercised a vast impact on humans throughout history and in almost every part of the world. It argues that human attitudes toward catastrophes have changed over time. Surprisingly, this has not necessarily led to a reduction of exposure or risk. The organization of the book resembles a journey around the globe_from Europe to North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and from the Pacific through South America and Mexico to the United States. While natural disasters appear everywhere on the globe, different cultures, societies, and nations have adopted specific styles for coping with disaster. Indeed, how humans deal with catastrophes depends largely on social and cultural patterns, values, religious belief systems, political institutions, and economic structures. The roles that catastrophes play in society and the meanings they are given vary from one region to the next; they differ_and this is one of the principal arguments of this book_from one cultural, political, and geographic space to the next. The essays collected here help us to understand not only how people in different times throughout history have learned to cope with disaster but also how humans in different parts of the world have developed specific cultural, social, and technological strategies for doing so.

Author : Katrin Pfeifer,Niki Pfeifer
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 233 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2012-12-20
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789400750005

Get Book

Forces of Nature and Cultural Responses by Katrin Pfeifer,Niki Pfeifer Pdf

How do and how did people perceive, manage and respond to natural disasters? How are the causes of natural disasters explained in history, how are they explained today? This volume investigates relationships between forces of nature and human culture in a multidisciplinary context bridging science and the humanities. Forces of nature and cultural responses is divided into four sections: (1) ball lightnings, (2) earthquakes and tsunamis, (3) volcanic eruptions and plagues, and (4) hurricanes and floodings. Specifically, Section 1 investigates theories and case studies of ball lightning phenomena. Section 2 includes a psychological study on the impact of earthquakes on academic performance, a study on tsunami vulnerability and recovery strategies in Thailand and a study on the social and economic aftermaths of a tsunami and a hurricane in Hawaii. Section 3 consists of a chapter on volcanic eruptions and plagues as well as cultural responses in Ancient Times and a study on contemporary vulnerability and resilience under chronic volcanic eruptions. Section 4 investigates the impact of hurricane Katrina on the current jazz scene in New Orleans and cultural responses to floodings in The Netherlands in Early Modern Times.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 1986
Category : Disaster relief
ISBN : IND:39000004614892

Get Book

Natural Disasters and Cultural Responses by Anonim Pdf

Author : John Grattan,Robin Torrence
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 441 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2003-08-27
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781134604906

Get Book

Natural Disasters and Cultural Change by John Grattan,Robin Torrence Pdf

Human cultures have been interacting with natural hazards since the dawn of time. This book explores these interactions in detail and revisits some famous catastrophes including the eruptions of Thera and Vesuvius. These studies demonstrate that diverse human cultures had well-developed strategies which facilitated their response to extreme natural events.

Author : Edwin Schmitt,Elya Tzaneva
Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Page : 290 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2012-11-15
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781443843003

Get Book

Disasters and Cultural Stereotypes by Edwin Schmitt,Elya Tzaneva Pdf

This volume is the second attempt by a joint international research team (consisting of Bulgarian, Chinese, Russian and American ethnologists) to contribute to the domain of ecological anthropology. The editors of and contributors to this collection share the understanding that catastrophic events challenge society to rework a specific methodology, and to activate a specific resource, to adapt to and cope with crises ecologically, socially and ideologically. The main aim of this volume is to reveal the important role of studying and taking into account the cultural stereotypes in this process. Through detailed analysis of different case studies, the contributors further generalize the definition of disasters and critical situations as situations that arise from the violation of a balance in individual and collective life, as any deviation from “normality” in the particular context of each discreet culture. This interpretation informs a structural grouping of the materials in this collection into three main parts. The section on “Cultural Responses to Natural and Biological Disasters” (specific case studies) follows the “Conceptualization of Cultural Knowledge about Disasters”. The contributors to the collection share the conviction that the ecology of social crises (presented in the volume’s third section on “Cultural Management of Social Crises”) is a valuable and necessary addition to the field of natural and technological, bio- and man-made disasters. They believe this is proved by the texts presented in this volume. The empirical data employed in the volume and the forms of disasters researched include materials from the Tibetan Pastoral area and the Pamir Plateau in Asia, the Rhodopes and Strandja Mountains in the Balkans, Macedonia and Central and Western Bulgaria, to ethnic minority areas in Central and Western China, Ukraine and Moldova.

Author : Fred Krüger,Greg Bankoff,Terry Cannon,Benedikt Orlowski,E. Lisa F. Schipper
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 299 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2015-04-24
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781317754640

Get Book

Cultures and Disasters by Fred Krüger,Greg Bankoff,Terry Cannon,Benedikt Orlowski,E. Lisa F. Schipper Pdf

Why did the people of the Zambesi Delta affected by severe flooding return early to their homes or even choose to not evacuate? How is the forced resettlement of small-scale farmers living along the foothills of an active volcano on the Philippines impacting on their day-to-day livelihood routines? Making sense of such questions and observations is only possible by understanding how the decision-making of societies at risk is embedded in culture, and how intervention measures acknowledge, or neglect, cultural settings. The social construction of risk is being given increasing priority in understand how people experience and prioritize hazards in their own lives and how vulnerability can be reduced, and resilience increased, at a local level. Culture and Disasters adopts an interdisciplinary approach to explore this cultural dimension of disaster, with contributions from leading international experts within the field. Section I provides discussion of theoretical considerations and practical research to better understand the important of culture in hazards and disasters. Culture can be interpreted widely with many different perspectives; this enables us to critically consider the cultural boundedness of research itself, as well as the complexities of incorporating various interpretations into DRR. If culture is omitted, related issues of adaptation, coping, intervention, knowledge and power relations cannot be fully grasped. Section II explores what aspects of culture shape resilience? How have people operationalized culture in every day life to establish DRR practice? What constitutes a resilient culture and what role does culture play in a society’s decision making? It is natural for people to seek refuge in tried and trust methods of disaster mitigation, however, culture and belief systems are constantly evolving. How these coping strategies can be introduced into DRR therefore poses a challenging question. Finally, Section III examines the effectiveness of key scientific frameworks for understanding the role of culture in disaster risk reduction and management. DRR includes a range of norms and breaking these through an understanding of cultural will challenge established theoretical and empirical frameworks.

Author : Hanneke van Asperen,Lotte Jensen
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2023
Category : HISTORY
ISBN : 9048557704

Get Book

Dealing with Disasters from Early Modern to Modern Times by Hanneke van Asperen,Lotte Jensen Pdf

Disasters are as much cultural as natural phenomena. For centuries, news about catastrophic events has been disseminated through media such as chronicles, pamphlets, newspapers, poems, drawings, and prints. Nowadays, we are overwhelmed with news about the cataclysmic effects of recent forest fires, floods, and storms. Due to the ongoing climate crisis, extreme weather events will likely have ever greater impacts on our lives. This volume addresses cultural representations of catastrophes such as floods, epidemics, and earthquakes over the centuries. In the past as now, artists and authors try to make sense of disasters, grasp their impact, and communicate moral, religious, or political messages. These creations reflect and shape how people learn and think about disasters that occur nearby or far away, both in time and space. The parallels between past and present underline how this book contributes to modern debates about cultural and creative strategies in response to disasters.

Author : Andrea JANKU,Gerrit Schenk,Franz Mauelshagen
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 369 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2011-12-21
Category : History
ISBN : 9781136476259

Get Book

Historical Disasters in Context by Andrea JANKU,Gerrit Schenk,Franz Mauelshagen Pdf

Growing concerns about climate change and the increasing occurrence of ever more devastating natural disasters in some parts of the world and their consequences for human life, not only in the immediately affected regions, but for all of us, have increased our desire to learn more about disaster experiences in the past. How did disaster experiences impact on the development of modern sciences in the early modern era? Why did religion continue to play such an important role in the encounter with disasters, despite the strong trend towards secularization in the modern world? What was the political role of disasters? Historical Disasters in Context illustrates how past societies coped with a threatening environment, how societies changed in response to disaster experiences, and how disaster experiences were processed and communicated, both locally and globally. Particular emphasis is put on the realms of science, religion, and politics. International case studies demonstrate that while there are huge differences across cultures in the way people and societies responded to disasters, there are also many commonalities and interactions between different cultures that have the potential to alter the ways people prepare for and react to disasters in future. To explain these relationships and highlight their significance is the purpose of this volume.

Author : National Research Council,Division on Earth and Life Studies,Commission on Geosciences, Environment and Resources,U.S. National Committee for the Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 85 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 1991-02-01
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780309045469

Get Book

A Safer Future by National Research Council,Division on Earth and Life Studies,Commission on Geosciences, Environment and Resources,U.S. National Committee for the Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction Pdf

Initial priorities for U.S. participation in the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, declared by the United Nations, are contained in this volume. It focuses on seven issues: hazard and risk assessment; awareness and education; mitigation; preparedness for emergency response; recovery and reconstruction; prediction and warning; learning from disasters; and U.S. participation internationally. The committee presents its philosophy of calls for broad public and private participation to reduce the toll of disasters.

Author : Anthony Oliver-Smith,Susanna Hoffman
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 351 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 1999-11-01
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781136755583

Get Book

The Angry Earth by Anthony Oliver-Smith,Susanna Hoffman Pdf

From hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes to oil spills and nuclear accidents, natural and technological disasters have become increasingly frequent and destructive across the planet. This ground-breaking collection of essays explores how various cultures in different historical moments have responded to calamity, offering new insights into the comp

Author : Monica Lindberg Falk
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 260 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2014-09-19
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781317690122

Get Book

Post-Tsunami Recovery in Thailand by Monica Lindberg Falk Pdf

Of all the huge natural disasters that claimed the lives of thousands in Asia, the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 was the largest, estimated to have killed more than 230,000 people. The scope of damage brought about by this natural disaster urges focus on recovery and post-disaster reconstruction from several perspectives. Here we find an in-depth ethnography of Thailand and the role of culture and religion as an underpinning issue in post-disaster recovery. Following the post-tsunami recovery over five years, the book provides knowledge on socio-cultural responses from affected local communities after natural hazards, and is based on original material collected in Thailand after the 2004 tsunami. With a focus on how culture and religion interplay in the processes of building resilience and decreasing vulnerability, it gives a deeper understanding of how disasters are experienced and dealt with on a local level. It examines survivors’ experiences of rituals and ceremonies that became a part of the survivors’ lives in new ways after the tsunami, offering psychological reassurance and religious efficaciousness as well as communication links between themselves and the deceased. Using observations, narratives and material from in-depth interviews with survivors, relatives, relief workers, officials and Buddhist monks and nuns, this book contributes to the research on anthropology of disaster and to the development of research on cultural resilience and religion in post-disaster recovery. It will be of interest to scholars of Disaster Studies, Buddhist Studies and Asian Studies.

Author : Brent D. Hales,Norman Walzer,James R. Calvin
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2017-10-02
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781317441038

Get Book

Innovative Community Responses to Disaster by Brent D. Hales,Norman Walzer,James R. Calvin Pdf

Increasingly, community leaders around the world face major natural and economic disasters that require them to find ways to rebuild both physical infrastructure and the local economy. Doing this effectively requires an understanding of how various parts of the community are interconnected, as well as information as to which revitalization approaches have succeeded in the past. Community investment in recovery is essential and, in some cases, may require local leaders to rethink how it can be financed and arranged. This book presents a conceptual framework based on the community capitals, and describes approaches that have succeeded in situations where local leaders have coordinated efforts to rebuild and revitalize local conditions. Contributions provide examples of successful approaches around the world, thus analysing potential strategies for addressing disasters of many different types in various cultural settings. In this way, the book provides insights into a variety of approaches based on applications of accepted community development theory and concepts. This book was originally published as a special issue of Community Development.

Author : Barbara Allen,Rachel A. Dowty Beech
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2013-09-13
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9781134073382

Get Book

Dynamics of Disaster by Barbara Allen,Rachel A. Dowty Beech Pdf

Disasters are the result of complex interactions between social and natural forces, acting at multiple scales from the individual and community to the organisational, national and international level. Effective disaster planning, response and recovery require an understanding of these interacting forces, and the role of power, knowledge and organizations. This book sheds new light on these dynamics, and gives disaster scholars and practitioners new and valuable lessons for management and planning in practice. The authors draw on methods across the social sciences to examine disaster response and recovery as viewed by those in positions of authority and the 'recipients' of operations. These first two sections examine cases from Hurricane Katrina, while the third part compares this to other international disasters to draw out general lessons and practical applications for disaster planning in any context. The authors also offer guidance for shaping institutional structures to better meet the needs of communities and residents.

Author : Roger del Moral,Lawrence R. Walker
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 189 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2007-03-29
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9781139464147

Get Book

Environmental Disasters, Natural Recovery and Human Responses by Roger del Moral,Lawrence R. Walker Pdf

Natural disasters destroy more property and kill more people with each passing year. Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, landslides, fires and other natural events are becoming more frequent and their consequences more devastating. Del Moral and Walker provide a comprehensive summary of the diverse ways in which natural disasters disrupt humanity and how humans cope. Burgeoning human numbers, shrinking resources and intensification of the consequences of natural disasters have produced a crisis of unparalleled proportions. Through this detailed study, the authors provide a template for improving restoration to show how relatively simple approaches can enhance both human well-being and that of the other species on the planet. This book will appeal to ecologists, land managers as well as anyone curious about the natural world and natural disasters.

Author : Susan Bouterey,Lawrence E. Marceau
Publisher : Springer
Page : 191 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2018-08-14
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9789811302442

Get Book

Crisis and Disaster in Japan and New Zealand by Susan Bouterey,Lawrence E. Marceau Pdf

This collection examines a broad spectrum of natural and human-made disasters that have occurred in Japan and New Zealand, including WWII and the atomic bombing of Japan and two recent major earthquake events, the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Christchurch Earthquake, which occurred in 2011. Through these studies, the book provides important insights into the events themselves and their tragic effects, but most significantly a multidisciplinary take on the different cultural responses to disaster, changing memories of disasters over time, the impacts of disaster on different societies, and the challenges post-disaster in reviving communities and traditional cultural practices. Bringing in humanities and social science perspectives to disaster studies, this collection offers a significant contribution to disaster studies.