Learning and Calamities: Practices, Interpretations, Patterns (Routledge Studies in Environment, Culture, and Society)

ISBN 10: 041533490X / ISBN 13: 9780415334907

Published by Routledge, 2016

About this Item

This text looks at the theory and practice of learning and how universities can improve their quality and competence. It tackles the past failure of the quality and competence movements and encourages a move towards "universities of learning". Editor(s): Egner, Heike; Schorch, Maren; Voss, Martin. Num Pages: 334 pages, 17 black & white illustrations, 2 black & white tables, 7 black & white halftones, 10 bla. BIC Classification: JNK; JNMN. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly; (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 229 x 152. . . 2016. 1st Edition. paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780415334907

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Learning and Calamities: Practices, Interpretations, Patterns (Routledge Studies in Environment, Culture, and Society)
• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication Date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 041533490X
• ISBN 13: 9780415334907
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

It is widely assumed that humanity should be able to learn from calamities (e.g., emergencies, disasters, catastrophes) and that the affected individuals, groups, and enterprises, as well as the concerned (disaster-) management organizations and institutions for prevention and mitigation, will be able to be better prepared or more efficient next time. Furthermore, it is often assumed that the results of these learning processes are preserved as "knowledge" in the collective memory of a society, and that patterns of practices were adopted on this base. Within history, there is more evidence for the opposite: Analyzing past calamities reveals that there is hardly any learning and, if so, that it rarely lasts more than one or two generations. This book explores whether learning in the context of calamities happens at all, and if learning takes place, under which conditions it can be achieved and what would be required to ensure that learned cognitive and practical knowledge will endure on a societal level. The contributions of this book include various fields of scientific research: history, sociology, geography, psychoanalysis, psychiatry, development studies and political studies, as well as disaster research and disaster risk reduction research.

About the Author

Heike Egner is Professor of Geography and Regional Studies at the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt (Austria).

Marén Schorch is a Research Assistant at the University of Siegen (Germany).

Martin Voss is head of the Disaster Research Unit at Freie Universität Berlin (Germany).