000			01762nam a22002057a 4500
999			_c37604 _d37604
020			_a9781138805620
041			_aEnglish.
082			_a363.34 _bGAI-I
100			_aGaillard, J. C. _eauthor.
245			_aThe Invention of Disaster : _bpower and knowledge in discourses on hazard and vulnerability / _cJC Gaillard
260			_aNew York : _bRoutledge, _c2022.
300			_axviii, 252p.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
520			_aThis theoretical contribution argues that the domination of Western knowledge in disaster scholarship has allowed normative policies and practices of disaster risk reduction to be imposed all over the world. It takes a postcolonial approach to unpack why scholars claim that disasters are social constructs while offering little but theories, concepts and methods supposed to be universal in understanding the unique and diverse experiences of millions of people across very different cultures. It further challenges forms of governments inherited from the Enlightenment that have been rolled out as standard and ultimate solutions to reduce the risk of disaster. Ultimately, the book encourages the emergence of a more diverse set of world views/senses and ways of knowing for both studying disasters and informing policy and practice of disaster risk reduction. Such pluralism is essential to better reflect local realities of what disasters actually are around the world. This book is an essential read for scholars and postgraduate students interested in disaster studies as well as policy-makers and practitioners of disaster risk reduction.
546			_aEnglish.
650			_aDisaster relief.
650			_aHazard mitigation.
650			_aMarginality, Social.
942			_2ddc _cBK