Capitalizing on Catastrophe


Book Description

Capitalizing on Catastrophe critically explores the phenomenon of 'disaster capitalism, ' in which relief efforts for natural disasters and other large-scale disruptions are contracted out to private companies




Peddling Paradise


Book Description

With tourism lauded throughout Latin America as a sure engine of economic growth, actual performance in the sector has varied to an extreme degree. Kirk Bowman asks why. Why did states become so actively involved in the tourism sector even as they were reducing their role in other sectors of the economy? Why have destinations with similar endowments differed so greatly in their success in attracting international tourists? And why does tourism in some cases contribute to broader socioeconomic development, and in other cases not? Drawing on extensive fieldwork in eight countries between 1996 and 2011, Bowman offers a rich comparative analysis and compelling explanations for both failed policies and impressive successes in using tourism to foster development in Latin America.




A House of One's Own


Book Description

What happens to people after an earthquake destroys their homes? What is daily life like under a humanitarian regime? Is aid a gift or is it a form of power? A House of One's Own explores these enduring questions as they unfold in a Salvadoran town in the aftermath of the 2001 earthquakes. In a lively, intimate account of the social complexities that arise in post-disaster settings, Alicia Sliwinski recounts the trajectories of fifty families who received different forms of humanitarian aid, from emergency assistance to housing reconstruction. Drawing on seminal anthropological theories about gift giving and moral economy, the author thoughtfully discusses the complications and challenges of humanitarian action that aims to rebuild communities through participation. At the crossroads of disaster studies and the anthropology of humanitarianism, the book's insights speak to timely and recurring issues that relocated populations face in regimented and morally charged resettlement initiatives. A richly textured, analytically nuanced ethnography, A House of One's Own is a perceptive firsthand account of what happens on the ground in a post-disaster setting.




The "Katrina Effect"


Book Description

On August 29th 2005, the headwaters of Hurricane Katrina's storm-surge arrived at New Orleans, the levees broke and the city was inundated. Perhaps no other disaster of the 21st century has so captured the global media's attention and featured in the 'imagination of disaster' like Katrina. The Katrina Effect charts the important ethical territory that underscores thinking about disaster and the built environment globally. Given the unfolding of recent events, disasters are acquiring original and complex meanings. This is partly because of the global expansion and technological interaction of urban societies in which the multiple and varied impacts of disasters are recognized. These meanings pose significant new problems for civil society: what becomes of public accountability, egalitarianism and other democratic ideals in the face of catastrophe? This collection of critical essays assesses the storm's global impact on overlapping urban, social and political imaginaries. Given the coincidence and 'perfect storm' of environmental, geo-political and economic challenges facing liberal democratic societies, communities will come under increasing strain to preserve and restore social fabric while affording all citizens equal opportunity in determining the forms that future cities and communities will take. Today, 21st century economic neo-liberalism, global warming or recent theories of 'urban vulnerability' and resilience provide key new contexts for understanding the meaning and legacy of Katrina.




Tsunami Recovery in Sri Lanka


Book Description

The Indian Ocean Tsunami, which devastated 70 percent of Sri Lanka’s coastline and killed an estimated 35,000 people, was remarkable both for the magnitude of the disaster and for the unprecedented scale of the relief and recovery operations mounted by national and international agencies. The reconstruction process was soon hampered by political patronage, by the competing efforts of hundreds of foreign humanitarian organizations, and by the ongoing civil war. The book is framed within this larger political and social context, offering descriptions and comparisons between two regions (southwest vs. eastern coast) and four ethnic communities (Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and Burghers) to illustrate how disaster relief unfolded in a culturally pluralistic political landscape. Approaching the issue from four disciplinary perspectives - anthropology, demography, political science, and disaster studies - chapters by experts in the field analyse regional and ethnic patterns of post-tsunami reconstruction according to different sectors of Sri Lankan society. Demonstrating the key importance of comprehending the local cultural contexts of disaster recovery processes, the book is a timely and useful contribution to the existing literature.




Where Time Begins


Book Description

It’s 1976, and Shelley Ilillouette, unemployed and without prospects, has never heard of the Kingdom of Tonga>—but when an artist offers her a job in this South Pacific kingdom, she takes it. She arrives in Tonga to discover that her employer has vanished. Alone in a bewildering world where ancient Polynesia mingles with missionaries, Peace Corps, and yacht dwellers, she is adopted by Foeata, a genial Tongan who decides that a mafu—a sweetheart—will solve Shelley’s problems. Foeata favors the Peace Corps doctor, Skip, but he is smitten with Lily, a mysterious half-Tongan actress. Then Shelley’s first and only lover, Jackson, follows her to the islands, and life only get more complicated. When Lily goes missing, too, and Jackson’s visit proves disastrous, Shelley has to admit that she has not escaped from anything; she has just brought all the confusion of life with her. Why, Foeata wonders, are Americans so bad at love? Amidst encounters with sharks and one octopus (meetings far less harrowing than those she has with missionaries and ex-lovers over the course of her adventure), Shelley untangles a web of stories reaching back decades, leading her to conclude that Tonga may indeed be what its king has proclaimed: the place where time begins.




Governance of Risk, Hazards and Disasters


Book Description

Growing debates around governance are taking place among academic, policy-making, and practice-based communities. In light of the increasing focus on governance, this book presents and discusses governance as a framework that is able to both conceptualize and contextualize risks and disasters as currently experienced and managed into social systems. Contributions offer a variety of perspectives, experiences and socio-cultural contexts which have identified the challenges, opportunities and critiques of promoting governance. Part I explores approaches, models, and keywords as applied to risk and disaster governance theory. Part II investigates practices of risk governance and associated issues by focusing on disaster risk reduction policy and practice. Finally, Part III explores practices of disaster governance and associated issues, by focusing on disaster recovery experiences. This book highlights cutting-edge recent theoretical and empirical trends and is a valuable resource for students, academics, practitioners and policy-makers interested in risk and disaster governance.




Tourism and Earthquakes


Book Description

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the relationship between tourism and earthquakes through all stages of a disaster. It discusses the measures available to manage tourism after earthquakes and examines the means to mitigate the potential impacts of earthquakes on tourism. The chapters address important questions such as ‘are tourists who come to earthquake regions immediately after an earthquake a benefit or a burden for recovery?’ and ‘should priority be given to evacuate tourists after an earthquake hits?’. The volume provides insights into the ethical, commercial and socioeconomic issues facing tourism after a major earthquake. It will be useful to students and researchers in tourism studies, tourism planning and marketing, natural hazards, and destination and disaster management.




Beyond the Blood, the Beach & the Banana


Book Description

Beyond the Blood, the Beach and the Banana emphasises the significance of the Caribbean in an increasingly globalised social world and draws attention to the contribution that scholarship in Caribbean Studies makes in coming to terms with a multi-cultural heritage. The compilation deliberately ranges in focus across periods, geographies, linguistic divisions and subject matter to present the fruition of significant research projects by 25 researchers from the Caribbean, North America and Europe. Contributors on the Hispanic, Dutch, African, Indian and Anglophone Caribbean juxtaposed with work on the Caribbean diasporas of the USA, UK, Canada and the Netherlands enrich the text with multiple perspectives.




Slavery, Contested Heritage, and Thanatourism


Book Description

First published in 2002. This book explores the inter-relationship between two discrete and contrasting phenomena: the inglorious history of slavery and modern-day heritage tourism. Recommended reading for those with an interest in the heritage tourism debate and the appropriation of the past as a tourism attraction.