Disasters: A Risk Perspective

Audience
Those with a professional or academic background in emergency or disaster management, who wish to gain a better understanding of the theoretical basis and practical roles involved in this field.

Purpose and Objectives of the Course
This course will focus on the risk to societies from hazards and disasters, and how society adapts to those risks.  Course content will not tend to focus on the hazards themselves, but rather on disaster theory and the processes within society, institutions and the environment that create vulnerability or otherwise work to increase or lessen people's exposure to disaster risks. An interdisciplinary approach with a mainly social science emphasis will be pursued from a global perspective.     General topics will include (1) disaster data and theory, (2) patterns of risk, (3) processes that create vulnerability, (4) human response to risk and coping mechanisms, (5) impacts of disasters, and (6) case studies of disasters.

The course will consist of lectures, round table discussion, critiques by students on literature sent in advance of the course.

Course Outline
This course examines disasters from an interdisciplinary point of view, particularly considering how and why decisions made by people create or perpetuate vulnerable communities.

Topics to be taught are:

• What is a disaster?
• Disaster models and disaster management models
• Disaster data
• Risk
• Vulnerability
• Myths and Fallacies
• Disasters and ethics
• Principles of Disaster Management
• Normal Accident Theory. 
• Climate Change
• Case Studies

Approach
This is a lecture and discussion based course that is supplemented by required readings and video documentaries.

Learning outcomes

• Students will gain a broad understanding of theoretical issues and tensions in the field of emergency and disaster management.
• Students will become aware of advantages and pitfalls related to different disaster management strategies.