Disasters and Social Justice

Catalog description

"The course offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the ways in which disasters disproportionately affect different communities across the US and internationally. Why are some individuals or communities more vulnerable than others? The course will use the feminist sociological theory of “intersectionality” an underlying theory and mode of looking at the multiple identifies that affect one’s ability to prepare, respond or recover from disasters. We will look at what role issues of race, ethnicity, gender/gender identity, class, age, dis/ability, sexual orientation and other social categories play in disaster resilience and management. The overall objective of this course is to gain a holistic understanding of the unnatural phenomenon of environmental disasters, including the social construction of disasters, environmental justice, disaster capitalism, normalization of deviance, Black Swan theory, individual blame logic and contaminated communities. Case studies - of local, national and international disasters - will be used to illustrate the principles involved. The course will combine theory with practical approaches to the issue, drawing on resources from different disciplines with a particular focus on the fields of sociology, social work, environmental and social justice, disaster management, community psychology, health, cross-cultural studies and urban planning. "