How did we become unprepared? Emergency and resilience in an uncertain world

Wednesday, 7th November, 6pm - 7.30pm
Event details How did we become unprepared? Emergency and resilience in an uncertain world
Event holder(s) Professor Mark Duffield, SPAIS

Dr Jon Bridle, School of Biological Sciences

Professor Colin Taylor, Department of Civil Engineering

Title How did we become unprepared? Emergency and resilience in an uncertain world
Type of event Panel Discussion
Date 07/11/2012
Time 6pm-7.30pm
Venue British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
Chair Professor Judith Squires, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, University of Bristol
Booking link http://www.britac.ac.uk/events/2012/How_did_we_become_unprepared.cfm
Abstract

We have entered a new geological age – the Anthropocene.  For the first time, human activity is shaping biospheric change and global evolution.  For good or ill, we have become the architects of our own planetary future.  

Professor Mark Duffield will explore the implications of these ideas with researchers from the University of Bristol’s Cabot Institute.

The audience will be given a new way to look at the world we have constructed (the world of the Anthropocene) and the challenges it poses for how we live.  Through discussion between academics, the audience will see new relationships between the potentially disparate subjects of sociology and politics, biology and engineering.  Topical themes such as resilience, interconnectivity and interdependence are threads that connect all of these areas.

The event will be followed by a wine reception.

Biography Professor Mark Duffield was the founding Director of the Global Insecurities Centre and an acknowledged international expert in disaster politics and the connections between development and security.  He is the author of Global Governance and the New Wars (2001) and Development, Security and Unending War (2007).   He is currently heading a research project on risk management among aid agencies working in the challenging environments of Southern Sudan and Afghanistan.