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Dear colleagues, See below. All the best, Pat Dr Patricia Noxolo, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT UK ________________________________________ From: Members of the Society for Caribbean Studies based in UK [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of [log in to unmask] [[log in to unmask]] Sent: 16 January 2018 10:24 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Roundtable - Hurricane Maria: Puerto Rico's Not-So-Natural Disaster Roundtable Hurricane Maria: Puerto Rico's Not-So-Natural Disaster Date: Jan 25, 2018 06:00 PM Location: UCL Institute of the Americas, 51 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PN Attendance to this event is free of charge but registration is required <https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hurricane-maria-puerto-ricos-not-so-natural-disaster-registration-41205427543> DESCRIPTION On Wednesday 20 September 2017 the lives of Puerto Ricans on the island and abroad changed forever. Hurricane María hit Puerto Rico as a category four storm (sustained winds of 150mph), leaving the island in a state of emergency. Essential services such as power, potable water and communication services collapsed. Flooding did not discriminate between marginalized and affluent neighbourhoods. But the natural disaster uncovered the soaring levels of inequality and the commodification of disaster-related recovery for Puerto Rican residents. Access to power, adequate food, potable water, among other aspects of life, were guaranteed to individuals with access to the market. The wellbeing of the rest of the population rested in the hands of the federal emergency management agencies, and local citizen-led initiatives. Moreover, austerity programmes, a long-term lack of investment in infrastructure and the lack of decision-making power from Puerto Rico´s elected officials magnified Hurricane Maria’s socio-economic impact. The main purpose of this roundtable will be to address the disaster conditions, response and consequences of Puerto Rico’s Not-So-Natural Disaster. The conversation will start with a brief overview of the infrastructural collapse and the challenges to rebuilding and reconstructing society (e.g., rapid out-migration, mass unemployment). The discussion will address the following issues: - Community vs state efforts in the emergency response and reconstruction: To compensate or complement? - High-tech capitalist responses vs local community initiatives - International aid: Are we repeating the Haiti 2010 intervention model for Puerto Rico? - Who’s in charge?: ‘La Junta’ vs elected government of Puerto Rico - Impact of the 12 years economic crisis and bankruptcy in the recovery process - Consolidating the colony? Racial and class dynamics - Trump, media responses and the representation of the crisis - Uncontrolled capitalism: From an economy of production to a consumerist economy. The four participants are Puerto Rican academics based in the UK. - Dr. Patria Roman, Senior Lecturer in Media & Creative Industries at Loughborough University - Dr. Melissa Fernández Arrigoitia, Lecturer in Urban Futures at Lancaster University - Dr. Janialy Ortiz Camacho, socio-cultural anthropologist from Universitat de Barcelona - Dr. Gibran Cruz-Martinez, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Global Development and Planning, University of Agder *---* *Gibrán Cruz-Martínez* *Postdoctoral Research Fellow* *Department of Global Development and Planning* *University of Agder* *Postboks 422* *4604, Kristiansand, Norway* *Editorial Board Member: Alternautas <http://www.alternautas.net>* *Email: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>* *Phone: +47 38142409 <+47%2038%2014%2024%2009>* *Mobile: +47 98465368 <+47%20984%2065%20368>* *List of publications: https://agder.academia.edu/gcruzmartinez <https://agder.academia.edu/gcruzmartinez>* *https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gibran_Cruz-Martinez <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gibran_Cruz-Martinez>*