Greg Bankoff | Ateneo de Manila University (original) (raw)

Videos by Greg Bankoff

Interview in which Greg Bankoff talks about bayanihan, forms of reciprocity in Filipino society a... more Interview in which Greg Bankoff talks about bayanihan, forms of reciprocity in Filipino society as part of a much longer interview with Michael Pante from Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints 17 February 2021

11 views

Interview in which Greg Bankoff talks about the hazardness of place and how the concept applies t... more Interview in which Greg Bankoff talks about the hazardness of place and how the concept applies to disasters in the Philippines in comparison to other countries that share a similar disaster profile. Part of a much longer interview with Michael Pante from Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints 17 February 2021

11 views

This presentation applies a path-dependency approach to better understand the potentialities and ... more This presentation applies a path-dependency approach to better understand the potentialities and limitations of non-main rivers in England. Using the River Hull Valley of the East Riding as an example, the study explores the underlying historical dynamics at work throughout the greater internal drainage board network in terms of infrastructural and institutional lock-in that makes any substantial alteration to the system prohibitively difficult and expensive to realise.

3 views

Natural disasters in the Philippines and their effects on society

21 views

Papers by Greg Bankoff

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal

PurposeGlobally, over 95% of fire related deaths and injuries occur in low- and middle-income cou... more PurposeGlobally, over 95% of fire related deaths and injuries occur in low- and middle-income countries. Within informal settlements, the risk of fire resulting in injury or death is particularly high. This paper examines fire risks in informal settlements in New Delhi and Cape Town, and tented informal settlements in Lebanon.Design/methodology/approachOur analysis draws on primary sources, secondary literature, statistical data and qualitative interviews.FindingsThe distribution of fire risk across urban societies is a fundamentally political issue. Residential fire risk can be tackled by accessible, affordable, safety-compliant housing. That said, important interim measures can be taken to mitigate fire risk. Some of the risks requiring attention are similar across our case studies, driven by high population densities; flammable housing materials; unreliable or inaccessible access to safe power sources; and – in the case of Cape Town and New Delhi particularly – the inability of f...

... A search of the premises revealed a mysterious letter, a rusty iron bar, upturned furniture a... more ... A search of the premises revealed a mysterious letter, a rusty iron bar, upturned furniture and a blood trail that led to the watercloset on the ... This task was left to Lorenza Gutierrez, who was usually accompanied by the children of the house over whom she had charge (Asuntos ...

The global trends that have seen the dramatic rise of Asian economies suggest a turning of the wh... more The global trends that have seen the dramatic rise of Asian economies suggest a turning of the wheel. Students of world history will recall that China, Japan, and India held a central place in the premodern world as producers and exporters of silks, ceramics, and cottons, while their populations and economies vastly dwarfed those of medieval Europe. The sprawling tropical zone of Southeast Asia, known as a prime source of spices and natural commodities, also boasted impressive civilizations. Visitors to the temple complexes of Angkor and Borobudur, in Cambodia and Java respectively, still nd themselves awed. Still we are perplexed as to how this historical region, boasting internationally known trade emporia, dropped off the center stage of world history. Did colonialism and imperialism turn the tide against indigenous agency? Or was stagnation an inevitable feature of life? Indeed, is it even desirable to write an autonomous history of a broader East-Southeast Asian region? We acknowledge that a discussion of maritime trade in the development of modern economies in Southeast Asia is still controversial, especially with respect to the mix of social, economic, and cultural in uences. But we seek to go further by asking a series of interrelated questions, as to whether nascent capitalism ever developed in this region, or whether the region remained peripheral to the European (and Chinese) core? We also wonder about the timing and nature of change called up by the European intervention. We wish to identify local production centers, such as for metallurgy, porcelain, and textiles, just as we seek to investigate the exchange dynamics between indigenous and foreign merchant communities? Allowing for an "age of commerce" red up by the European intervention, can we adduce a 17th-century crisis in the broader East

Journal of Rural Studies , 2020

While increasing resilience to earthquakes in the global South has become a major research and p... more While increasing resilience to earthquakes in the global South has become a major research and policy goal, the focus has largely been on rapidly expanding urban areas. Rural areas are often neglected despite the fact that rural residents make up a significant proportion of the population exposed to earthquakes in many low and middle-income countries. Central Asia is a case in point. Drawing on empirical research undertaken in the Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan, this paper explores local perceptions of and responses to earthquake hazard and risk among rural householders. The primary data are derived from a survey of 302 households conducted across six rural communities in South Kazakhstan oblast (now Turkistan oblast), supplemented by 10 focus group discussions with rural residents. The findings show little awareness of earthquakes or concern about the potential occurrence of a high magnitude earthquake in the future. This reflects, at least in part, a lack of direct experience of all but minor earthquakes. As a result, we see little evidence of the presence of a seismic culture. Only a small number of respondents had received guidance on how to prepare for, or respond to, earthquakes, and few householders had taken any action to reduce the risk faced. We reflect on the findings in the context of Kazakhstan's Soviet past and its transition to a post-Soviet future. We argue that acknowledging this past is essential to understanding local level decision-making and to informing future disaster risk reduction interventions in rural areas.

in Gregory Button and Mark Schuller (eds.) Contextualizing Disasters,, 2016

Using a detailed archival account of a typhoon-induced flood, this paper examines Disaster Risk R... more Using a detailed archival account of a typhoon-induced flood, this paper examines Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) as practised in a late nineteenth century provincial town in the Philippines. Culture is an important determinant when considering DRR for any community as the roots of its present-day resilience as well as the causes of its vulnerabilities may lie in its history. The flood of 1887 and the account of the actions taken by the community in San Isidro challenge any assumptions about DRR in the past and hint at the origins of the vibrant civil society that is such a characteristic of Filipino society today.

Historians have generally been reticent in attributing any special role to natural disasters in s... more Historians have generally been reticent in attributing any special role to natural disasters in shaping the evolution of human societies, yet there is a fundamental relationship between the history and structure of societies and its vulnerability to these events. This paper explores the relationship between environment and poverty in one such society particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, the Philippines. It argues that the extremes of wealth and power characteristic of this society are possibly the result of the frequency and magnitude of such events that exacerbate social inequalities. Specifically, the paper examines the rising incidence of natural disasters in recent decades, both globally and within the Philippines, and then assesses the effectiveness of the relief mechanisms that the latter has evolved to cope with these occurrences. Finally, the paper investigates the correlation between natural disasters and the way power and wealth are articulated in the Philippines.

The social construction of hazard is a matter of considerable moment to those engaged in disaster... more The social construction of hazard is a matter of considerable moment to those engaged in disaster preparedness, management and relief. All too often, insufficient recognition is accorded to the manner in which people's actions are influenced by their cultural interpretation of what they are experiencing. Behaviours that appear inappropriate or illogical to external agency or relief workers may be entirely consistent and rational actions when understood in the context of the operating schema of the individuals experiencing such phenomena.

Continuity and Change, 2007

Disasters seem destined to be major issues of academic enquiry in the new century if for no other... more Disasters seem destined to be major issues of academic enquiry in the new century if for no other reason than that they are inseparably linked to questions of environmental conservation, resource depletion and migration patterns in an increasingly globalised world. Unfortunately, inadequate attention has been directed at considering the historical roots of the discursive framework within which hazard is generally presented, and how that might reflect particular cultural values to do with the way in which certain regions or zones of the world are usually imagined. This paper argues that tropicality, development and vulnerability form part of one and the same essentialising and generalising cultural discourse that denigrates large regions of world as disease-ridden, poverty-stricken and disaster-prone.

Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 2003

Terrorism is a word that everyone across the globe has become familiar with in the wake of the ev... more Terrorism is a word that everyone across the globe has become familiar with in the wake of the events of 11 September 2001. The rhetoric about these events, however, is more than mere commentary seeking to understand the cause of or apportion blame for such attacks and forms part of a much wider western discourse invoked to describe unfamiliar cultures and landscapes. In fact, terrorism is only the most recent in a long line of dangerous conditions that have come to represent how certain areas of the non-western world are usually imagined and subsequently depicted as regions of risk. This article argues that "tropicality," "development," and "vulnerability" form part of one and the same essentializing and generalizing cultural discourse with "terrorism" that historically denigrate large regions of the world as disease-ridden, poverty-stricken, disaster-prone and terrorist-spawning.‐

11 views

3 views

Natural disasters in the Philippines and their effects on society

21 views

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal

Journal of Rural Studies , 2020

in Gregory Button and Mark Schuller (eds.) Contextualizing Disasters,, 2016

Continuity and Change, 2007

Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 2003

Flooding is not a recent hazard in the Philippines but one that has occurred throughout the recor... more Flooding is not a recent hazard in the Philippines but one that has occurred throughout the recorded history of the archipelago. On the one hand, it is related to a wider global ecological crisis to do with climatic change and rising sea levels but on the other hand, it is also the effect of more localised human activities. A whole range of socio-economic factors such as land use practices, living standards and policy responses are increasingly influencing the frequency of natural hazards such as floods and the corresponding occurrence of disasters. In particular, the reason why flooding has come to pose such a pervasive risk to the residents of metropolitan Manila has its basis in a complex mix of inter-relating factors that emphasise how the nature of vulnerability is constructed through the lack of mutuality between environment and human activity over time. This paper examines three aspects of this flooding: first, the importance of an historical approach in understanding how hazards are generated; second, the degree of interplay between environment and society in creating risk; and third, the manner in which vulnerability is a complex construction.

It is now generally appreciated that what constitutes vulnerability to one person is not necessar... more It is now generally appreciated that what constitutes vulnerability to one person is not necessarily perceived as such by the next. Different actors 'see' disasters as different types of events and as a result they prepare for, manage and record them in very different ways. This paper explores what different perceptions of vulnerability mean in terms of the understanding and practices of two significant sets of actors and stakeholders involved in disaster preparedness and management in the Philippines: the state and NGOs. Approaches to disaster are not just a function of people's perceptions of disaster risk but also of their understanding of the prevailing social order and social relations. Despite a shared vocabulary-which increasingly presents disasters as processes rather than events, takes a proactive rather than a reactive approach, and favours the inclusion of stakeholders rather than solely relying on technocratic management-different realities continue to make for different responses.

Asking why disasters happen depends much upon one's disciplinary perspective, but realizing how t... more Asking why disasters happen depends much upon one's disciplinary perspective, but realizing how they occur is always a question of history. Managing risk may be a matter of dealing with the political, social, economic and environmental dimensions of people and hazards, but understanding the particular nature of vulnerability and resilience in any situation is quintessentially an historical question: To recognize what makes people, households, communities and societies vulnerable or resilient in the present, you need to appreciate what made them that way over time. Just like the old adage that it is not earthquakes that kill people but buildings; actually it is not buildings so much as where they are situated, what they are made from, how they are built and why people use them that way that proves so fatal. Some people refer to the shared set of attitudes, values, goals and practices that inform all human activities as culture, and recently much more consideration has been accorded the role of culture in disasters; however, history underlies culture too, providing both its origins and the measure of its change.

" By integrating historical sources and methodology with the findings of climate scientists and d... more " By integrating historical sources and methodology with the findings of climate scientists and disaster policy studies, as well as the challenge of climate change, this book seeks to encourage a longer term perspective on our understanding of natural hazards in the Indian Ocean World. The numerous references to the global study of natural disasters and societal responses in the volume promise to be of great interest to a wider audience than those who solely study the Indian Ocean World. " —Edward Alpers, Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA " With sensitivity (and passion!) Bankoff's and Christensen's edited volume explores the role of natural hazards in shaping the lives of peoples along the Indian Ocean world. The environment rarely figures in transnational histories of the Indian Ocean world but this game changer in Indian Ocean studies promises a paradigm shift from the Introduction itself. The collection of essays deliver on that promise. " —Rila Mukherjee, Professor of History, University of Hyderabad, India This book examines the dangers and the patterns of adaptation that emerge through exposure to risk on a daily basis. By addressing the influence of environmental factors in Indian Ocean World history, the collection reaches across the boundaries of the natural and social sciences, presenting case-studies that deal with a diverse range of natural hazards – fire in Madagascar, drought in India, cyclones and typhoons in Oman, Australia and the Philippines, climatic variability, storms and flood in Vietnam and the Philippines, and volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis in Indonesia. These chapters, written by leading international historians, respond to a growing need to understand the ways in which natural hazards shape social, economic and political development of the Indian Ocean World, a region of the globe that is highly susceptible to the impacts of seismic activity, extreme weather, and climate change. Greg Bankoff is Professor of Modern History at the University of Hull, United Kingdom. He has worked and published extensively on both the historical dimension of how societies adapt to risk as well as engaged with contemporary civil defence and emergency management practices in Asia, Australasia and more recently in Europe. His most recent publications include co-authoring The Red Cross's World Disaster Report 2014: Culture and Risk and a companion coedited volume entitled Cultures and Disasters: Understanding Cultural Framings in Disaster Risk Reduction (2015).

EditEd by FrEd KrügEr, grEg banKoFF, tErry Cannon, bEnEdiKt orlowsKi and E. lisa F. sChippEr www.... more EditEd by FrEd KrügEr, grEg banKoFF, tErry Cannon, bEnEdiKt orlowsKi and E. lisa F. sChippEr www.routledge.com Routledge titles are available as eBook editions in a range of digital formats 'Cultural profiles play a crucial and often underestimated role not only in the science, but also in the practice of risk and crisis management. this discussion can't be limited to the large scale patterns between societies and continents, but should include the diversities within a society or geographical region, creating awareness on the range of perspectives, attitudes and priorities within different societal sectors. it is one of the major strengths of this very timely book that it addresses the many ways and levels in which cultures can influence disaster risk.'