- Title
- Understanding the role of human and nonhuman actants in post-disaster contexts: a tentative deployment of actor network theory to evaluate its usefulness
- Creator
- Brewer, Graham; Giggins, Helen; von Meding, Jason; Mackee, Jamie; Gajendran, Thayaparan
- Relation
- 5th International Disaster and Risk Conference (IDRC 2014). Proceedings of the 5th International Disaster and Risk Conference (Davos, Switzerland 24-28 August, 2014) p. 116-118
- Relation
- https://idrc.info/archive/idrc-davos-2014/outcomes/conference-proceedings/
- Publisher
- Global Risk Forum (GRF)
- Resource Type
- conference paper
- Date
- 2014
- Description
- In the aftermath of disasters attention naturally focuses on the impacts humans experience during rescue, recovery and rebuilding. Resilient outcomes are desirable but by no means guaranteed, and the consequences are usually attributed to the actions of humans. In a novel deployment this research uses an Actor Network Theory (ANT) lens to reanalyse case study data from three disaster theatres. It reveals the impact of nonhuman actants upon human actants, and their consequences for recovery efforts and resilience outcomes. In particular it exposes the potential economic retardation that food aid can inflict on fragile societies; the value of coherent policies and processes for resilient reconstruction in highly structured societies, and; the mixed blessings arising from the presence of TV cameras in disaster theatres. It concludes that using an ANT lens sensitises researchers to the influences that nonhuman actants can exert in dynamic post-disaster contexts, but that the use of purist ANT approach to solving problems within disaster theatres is not a practical proposition.
- Subject
- actor network theory; human; non-human; actant; influence
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1298077
- Identifier
- uon:19571
- Language
- eng
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