Disaster: Recipes and Remedies
17th Social Research Conference November 1-2, 2007
This conference is convened at a time in which we are seriously threatened by an increasing number of disasters of all kinds: those conventionally considered "natural," like hurricanes and tsunamis, and those normally considered man-made, like pandemics and large-scale bio-terrorist attacks. The need for serious reflection on how we can best think about, prepare for, respond to and prevent disasters is urgent. At this conference, leading experts will explore the commonalities of all disasters. They will examine the unequal protection and treatment of populations made vulnerable by their location and/or socioeconomic status; the impact of disasters on the economy and overall human development; how hazards develop into disasters; and how design factors either mitigate or amplify their effects.
This conference is supported by Parsons School of Design at The New School, Eugene Lang College at The New School, The New School for Social Research, and The New School Office of the Provost.
To order the related issue of Social Research: An International Quarterly
PROGRAM
Thursday, November 1st, 2007
Session I: Definitions: What We Talk About When We Talk About Disasters Scientific Perspectives on Disasters: Physical Sciences
Michael Oppenheimer, Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs; Director, Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University
Scientific Perspectives on Disasters: Biological Science
Eric K. Noji, Chief of Epidemiology, Surveillance, Emergency Response in Office of Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response, CDC; Senior Medical and Public Health advisor, White House Office, Homeland Security
Thinking Possibilistically in a Probabilistic World
Lee Clarke, Anschutz Distinguished Fellow, Princeton University; Author, Worst Cases
Pre-Conditions of Disasters
John Mutter, Deputy Director/Associate Vice Provost, The Earth Institute, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences and International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Discussion Between Speakers, then Discussion with Audience
Session Moderator: Jonathan Veitch, Dean, Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts Session II - Acquiring Vulnerabilities that Potentiate Disasters Reducing Our Vulnerabilities to Natural, Industrial, and Terrorists Disasters
Charles Perrow, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Yale University Differential Vulnerabilities
Environmental and Economic Inequality
Robert Bullard, Ware Professor of Sociology; Director, Environmental Justice Resource Center, Clark Atlanta University
Biological and Health Vulnerabilities
Irwin Redlener, Associate Dean, Public Health Advocacy and Preparedness; Director, National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; President, The Children's Health Fund
The Politics of Infrastructure
Joseph W. Westphal, System Professor, Professor of Political Science, University of Maine; Former Head,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Discussion Between Speakers, then Discussion with Audience
Session Moderator: Ronald Kassimir, Associate Provost, Associate Professor of Political Science, The New School for Social Research Session III - Keynote Address
Nicholas Scoppetta, New York City Fire Commissioner, followed by Q & A with Bob Kerrey, President of The New School.
Friday, November 2nd, 2007
Session IV - What "Really" Happens When Disasters Happen
Preparations and Responses The Calculus of Risk vs. Preparedness
Erwann Michel-Kerjan, Managing Director, Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania
Overcoming Denial to Increase Rational Preparation and Response to Danger
Elliot Aronson, Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, University of California at Santa Cruz; Author
The Social Animal and Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me) Conventional Beliefs and Counterintuitive Realities
Enrico L. Quarantelli, Founding Director, Disaster Research Center; Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Delaware
The Role of Insurance Companies
Howard Kunreuther, Cecilia Yen Koo Professor; Professor of Decision Sciences and Business and Public Policy Co-Director, Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Discussion Between Speakers, then Discussion with Audience
Session Moderator: Joel Towers, Director, Sustainable Design and Urban Ecology, Parsons the New School for Design
Session V - The Impact of Disasters on Human Development
Global Disaster Impacts: Implications and Policy Responses, Patterns and Trends, Role of Climate Change, and Means to Reduce Disaster Risks
Reid Basher, Coordinator, Policy, United Nations Strategy for Disaster Reduction Disasters by Design
Blaming Nature for Political Failures
Michael A. Cohen, Director, Graduate Program in International Affairs, The New School for General Studies
Impact on the Formal and Informal Economies
Dean Yang, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Michigan
Impact on Infrastructure
William Morrish, Elwood R. Quesada Professor of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban and Environmental Planning, School of Architecture, University of Virginia
Impact on Health
Robert Ursano, Professor, Chair of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland
Discussion Between Speakers, then Discussion with Audience Session Moderator: Lee Clarke, Anschutz Distinguished Fellow, Princeton University; Author, Worst Cases
Eugene Lang College Student Panel on Disasters Students will present research on disasters and public perspectives. This additional, free event is made possible with collaboration from professors in the Eugene Lang College, The New School for Liberal Arts. Small reception to follow.
Saturday, November 3, 2007 The Metropolitan Museum of Art is hosting a special, customized tour of artistic representations of disasters from the museum's collection.
