Culture and Disaster: The Anthropological Approach
Anthropologists have long been involved in disaster research and in formulating disaster theory and knowledge. Because disasters are the outcomes more of social than physical processes, anthropologists' concern focuses on the roles of culture within communities to examine why disasters occur and how they unfold. Understanding how a culture interacts with a physical surrounding is critical for determining the causes as well as potential cures for both fast and slow onset disasters along with short and long term impacts. To achieve this understanding, anthropologists use approaches that engage community members to understand their perceptions of risks, their priorities, and long- and short-term decision making when a hazard threatens. Based on their unique perspectives and backgrounds, panelists will discuss how a focus on a people's culture is increasingly important for understanding how disasters are generated, evolve and addressed. Panelists have worked with communities in Africa, the Mediterranean, the Pacific and the United States. Panelists will also comment on how anthropologists work in interdisciplinary and applied settings. The session will represent and promote the newly formed Topical Interest Group on Disaster within the Society for Applied Anthropology.
