Handbook

The subject presents geographic and social science approaches to disaster resilience underpinned by health-related case studies. In it, students will examine how conceptualisations of social diversity and power shape experiences of disaster in diverse cities, regions and localities. The subject will focus on developing student skills in analysing the uneven geographies of disaster exposure, impact and recovery. It will apply conceptual lenses and analytic tools to identify vulnerable populations and adaptive capacities shaped through relations of power. Through topics such as social vulnerability to flooding, community responses to bushfire risk and the health dimensions of pandemic, students will explore how and why disasters emerge, their geographically uneven expression and identify opportunities to embed social justice into contemporary disaster management policy and practice. Through critical assessment of disaster management policies in Australia, students will develop advanced teamwork and project management skills to propose disaster mitigation strategies in diverse disaster-resilient communities at the nexus of geography and health.