Disaster Recovery, Capacity Building, and Resiliency ((3 Credits))

Catalog description

This course is a requirement for students in the new MPA Disaster Crisis and Emergency Management track. This course provides a comprehensive overview of theory and research related to disaster response, recovery, capacity building and resiliency models within the disaster and crisis field. Throughout the course you will compare how what is empirically known about the efficacy of disaster response and recovery activities is reflected in current policy and recent practice, and how this knowledge can advance practice. The course begins with an exploration of the differences between response and recovery outcomes, and hazard- and response-generated demands. National and international response and recovery frameworks will be explored as well as the effects of climate change and conflict on disaster recovery efforts. An all-hazards, global, and social inclusion approach will be taken. Students will compare how response and recovery activities are influenced by hazard type, as well by culture and context. Different dimensions of integrating capacity building and resiliency models into the disaster recovery practice will also be considered. Ethical practices in complex, multi-stakeholder environments will be discussed throughout the course with an eye towards understanding ethical dilemmas face in the field as professionals.