157. STS as a Lens to Teach About Disasters and the Environment
Wonyong Park, University of Southampton; Kim Fortun, University of California, Irvine; Prerna Srigyan, University of California, Irvine;
In 2015, the United Nations adopted The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction which emphasized the role of education in preventing, responding to, and recovering from disasters (UNISDR, 2015). While disaster is an active research agenda within STS (Fortun et al., 2016), little attention has been given to the intersections of disaster, STS, and education. This panel aims to provide a platform for exploring how STS research and pedagogies can contribute to, and benefit from, theories and research in STEM education to increase resilience to various regional and global disasters and promote social justice. In considering approaches to teaching disaster, issues of inequalities and injustices relating to race, class, ethnicity, and gender will be developed and problematized. Possible topics and questions include: (1) What concepts and theories from STS can inform teaching about disasters and the environment at various levels and settings, and how? (K-12, undergraduate, adult education, informal learning environments), (2) What is the role of education in reducing disaster risk and building the resilience of individuals and societies?, (3) How can studying past and current disasters inform our response to future disasters through STS education?, (4) What ethical issues can arise when teaching about disaster and the environment (e.g., sensitivity, care, relevance), and how can they be mitigated?
