京都大学 京都大学

Disaster and Culture-E2

Numbering Code U-LAS04 20040 LE45 Year/Term 2022 ・ Second semester
Number of Credits 2 Course Type Lecture
Target Year Mainly 1st & 2nd year students Target Student For all majors
Language English Day/Period Thu.3
Instructor name LAHOURNAT，Florence (Disaster Prevention Research Institute Senior Lecturer)
Outline and Purpose of the Course This course proposes to explore disaster through the filter of culture and how disasters and culture relate from an anthropological perspective. It explores how disasters emerge from the combination of natural and socio-cultural forces and how humans conceive and deal with disasters.
Posing disasters as multidimensional socio-cultural processes, we will focus on how humans perceive and conceive, interpret and represent disasters outside the realm of “hard science”, from a socio-cultural angle.
We will address issues such as the perception and interpretation of disaster, vulnerability and resilience, cultural competence in disaster context, as well as the cultural expressions of disaster phenomena, how culture shapes our perceptions, interpretations, and on the reverse, how disaster can also shape culture.
Course Goals There are 3 main objectives for this class.
First, students will gain an understanding of the notion of culture and how it plays out in disaster contexts, and opportunities to reflect on various cultural expressions and interpretations of disasters. Second, they will acquire a working command of concepts such as culture, risk, vulnerability, resilience, and social capital and a sense of what a socio-cultural anthropological approach is. Third, it will encourage students to think from a variety of perspectives and become more comfortable formulating thoughts and opinions on a specific topic.
Schedule and Contents This is a lecture-type class with an interactive component.
Each session will include a lecture part and followed or interspersed by discussion based on the lecture content and this week's readings.

1- Orientation and overview
2- Understanding culture
3- Disaster as a multi-dimensional process
4- The mutual relationship of nature and culture
5- Group discussion
6- Vulnerabilities and resilience
7- Cultural interpretations - the folklore of disaster
8- Cultural representations of disaster
9- Religion and disaster
10- Group discussion
11- Social networks in disaster contexts
12- Cultural competence in disaster
13- Cultural heritage and disaster
14- Final presentation or group work
15- Feedback session

Note: this schedule may be subject to change. The detailed definitive schedule will be handed out during the first class.
Evaluation Methods and Policy Evaluation will be based on class attendance and active participation, group work and presentations and a final presentation.

Active participation means actively engaging with the class content, participating during discussions and group work, and contributing to the class by sharing opinions, experiences and reflections.
Further explanation about grading,including percentages for each item, will be provided during the first session.

Students absent 4 times or more will fail this class.
Tardiness (by 15 minutes or more) will be treated as absence.
Systematic tardiness and/or unexplained early departures will greatly reduce your attendance and participation grade.
Course Requirements There are no specific requirements for taking this class.
However, students must be willing to prepare each session by completing the weekly readings and assigned tasks, and to participate actively during each session.
Study outside of Class (preparation and review) Students are required to prepare for each session by completing the weekly readings and assigned tasks. They should expect 2 to 3 hours/week of work outside the classroom for review and preparation.
Textbooks Textbooks/References There is no textbook for this class. Weekly readings and documents will be available for download.
Printing and preparing the material is the responsibility of the student.
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