Mobile Cultures of Disaster Conference
23 March - 24 March 2017
City West Campus
University of South Australia
Adelaide, Australia
According to a growing body of literature, the dangers and
hazards that people around the world face in the 21st century are in many ways
unparalleled. In order to confront these problems, there is a growing
recognition that disasters and other social disruptions are cultural matters.
This has stimulated research across the Asia-Pacific on the cultural
determinants and consequences of disasters. However, the extent to which these
concepts differ or intersect between various social contexts has remained less
well- explored. Additionally, there is a need to further investigate how
disasters cultures are mobile, in that culture is a phenomenon that circulates,
as acutely evident in the rise of social media.
The aim of the conference is to bring together prominent
academics, specialists and policy analysts across the world to investigate the
cultural and mobile aspects of disasters. The conference principally seeks to
stimulate research on how disasters are mobile and cultural phenomena. It asks
participants to consider how disasters circulate around various parts of the
world. This refers to the ways in which disasters involve movement and cultural
exchange in terms of how they are managed, experienced and socially
constructed.
Speakers
The full list of confirmed speakers will be available
shortly.
Call for Papers
We invite the submission of abstracts that bear upon at
least one of the following research questions:
- How can some disasters, such as the 3.11 triple disaster in Japan, be conceptualized as ‘mobile’ social breakdowns?
- What are some of the methodological challenges related to studying ‘disasters’ on the move?
- How do global transformations in mobility (from mass travel to social media) impact upon disaster management/recovery and cultural understandings of disasters?
- In what ways do disasters involve cultural inter-change?
- What role do ICTs and other communicative technologies play in the experience and management of disasters?
- What forms of ‘mobility’ and/or ‘immobility’ can be linked to disasters?
Abstracts of no more than 200 words should sent to Dr Eric
L. Hsu at eric.hsu@unisa.edu.au by Monday
17 October 2016. You will be notified of acceptance no later than the Tuesday
15 November 2016.
Key dates
Call for for Papers open: Friday 26
August 2016
Call for Papers close: Monday 17 October
2016
Applicants notified: Tuesday 15 November
2016
Acknowledgements
The conference has received generous funding from the Japan
Foundation and is also supported by Hawke Research Institute at the University
of South Australia, the School of Sociology at Kwansei Gakuin University, and the
College of Sociology at Rikkyo University. Due to this support, there are no
registration fees for the ‘Mobile Cultures of Disaster’ Conference.
