200. Producing the 'Aftermath': The Ending of Emergency as a Site of Struggle
Michael Rabi, Hebrew University of Jerusalem;
As humanity (or at least some of it) moves away from the COVID-19 pandemic to focus on other emergencies such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it is time to reflect upon and think about the ways in which emergencies come to an end. Like the sea, sky, and land that surround us, the aftermath of emergency seems to have always been there, a solid and permanent truth that had to be discovered. However, both our surrounding environment and the aftermath are in fact shaped and molded by complex processes in which multiple forces clash, collide, and merge. Thus, by examining the sites where the aftermath is produced, we can gain a deeper understanding of how struggles over power and knowledge result in collectively held truths about what happened and how to move forward.
This panel invites papers that explore, address, or analyze political, cultural, historical, and socio-technical factors and processes that contribute to the production of the aftermath of emergency, broadly defined to include (for example) epidemics, earthquakes, wars, famine, or environmental and economic crises. It will offer insights into the complex and multifaceted processes that produce the aftermath by bringing together diverse perspectives and case studies on, for instance: how media and communication technology shape public narratives and discourse; how values and beliefs play into the construction of collective truth in emergencies; and reforms and reflections in the political and policy domains and how expert contribute to them.
Keywords: Forms and Practices of Expertise, Governance and Public Policy, Infrastructure, emergency; aftermath; politics; culture; history; sociotechnical systems
