General Information:

Joint workshop organized in co-operation between COST Action IS12O1 on Disaster Bioethics and University College London, United Kingdom.
The COST Action on Disaster Bioethics and University College London (United Kingdom) would like to invite you to a workshop on Culture and Gender in Disaster Situations. The workshop will take place on 17th and 18th April 2015 at Swedenborg House, Bloomsbury, London.

The aim of the workshop is to investigate the subjects of violence, death, and empathy in disasters from a culture and gender perspective, as these subjects are under-researched. The findings of the workshop are trusted to shape policies that aim to protect individuals affected by disasters.

Workshop Background and Description:

Disasters are a social phenomenon and social processes become more visible in times of crisis. This means that societal, cultural, and religious norms and values are evident in the nature of a disaster and shape the needs and risk of affected individuals. Gender is an organizing principle in society, and thus disasters are not gender neutral.
This workshop focuses on three strands of culture and gender in disaster situations, namely, violence, death, and empathy, from a culture and gender perspective. Violence, death, and empathy are important and necessary subjects for investigation due to their conceptual challenges for the development of humanitarian interventions and policies.
Furthermore, the relation between violence, death, and empathy from a culture and gender perspective is under-researched. This poses a detrimental effect for the execution of policies that aim to protect individuals in disaster situations and mediate the risks that emerge during particular contexts such as refugee or internally displaced camps.

Call for Papers and Practical Information

The workshop will be held at Swedenborg House, which is in the heart of Bloomsbury, one of the main academic areas of London.

Those interested in participating in the workshop should send an abstract of minimum 250 words to Ayesha Ahmad (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by 15th March 2015. The committee for evaluation of the abstracts will announce the results within 5 days of the submission deadline. COST funding is available for a maximum of 10 participants. Only those whose abstracts are accepted and who satisfy all COST criteria (see www.cost.eu/COST_Actions/isch/Actions/IS1201) will be reimbursed according to the usual COST regulations. Additional participants are welcome to attend the workshop using alternative funding arrangements, whether their abstracts are accepted or not.

We will also invite contributors to submit their papers to be considered for publication as a book chapter. We are proposing to edit a volume collection of papers from the workshop and will be developing the book proposal during the workshop.

Early Stage Researchers (ESR)* are warmly welcome to participate in the workshop. COST funding will be reserved for a number of ESR participants.

General questions or comments about the workshop can be addressed to Dr. Ayesha Ahmad This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

* COST definition: a research student or a researcher during the first 8 years after finishing a PhD or equivalent professional qualification.