Building on faculty research and site experiences in Japan, students will examine public reports, scholarly analyses, and community stakeholder testimonials to formulate informed perspectives on the elements of and challenges to community recovery and resilience in the wake of this disaster. Central activities will be determining and assessing specific indicators of resilience, to include socioeconomic indicators, which are often left out of existing analyses that typically focus on infrastructure, and considering the issues of economic and social justice inherent in community preparation for, vulnerability to, and response management of natural and man-made disasters.Business ethics professor Jessica McManus Warnell, a Liu Institute faculty fellow, will offer the Asian Studies course Recovery and Resilience: Fukushima Case Study for the University's winter session, which runs from January 4 through 27, 2021. The course is open to undergraduate students from any division in the University, and there are no prerequisites.
Recovery and Resilience offers an exploration of arguably the most significant natural and man-made disaster in recent history, an event with critical implications for social and environmental justice. The 2011 Tōhoku, Japan, earthquake, tsunami and subsequent Fukushima nuclear tragedy presents a compelling case study of the challenges to recovery and resilience in the wake of major disruption. Around the world, communities are grappling with unprecedented health, economic, and social challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic – the topic of recovery and resilience is more salient than ever.