Appropriating disasters. A framework for cultural historical research on catastrophes in Europe, 1500–1900. (April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jensen, Lotte; van Asperen, Hanneke; Duiveman, Adriaan; Egeraat, Marieke van; Meijer, Fons; Nijhuis, Lilian
• Is Part Of: Journal of historical geography. Volume 76(2022)
• Page Start: 34
• Page End: 41
• Publication Date: 2022-04
• Subjects: Disasters -- Cultural-historical approaches -- Appropriation -- Representation -- Identification; Historical geography -- Periodicals; 911.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhg.2022.03.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0305-7488

Abstract

Abstract: This article argues that 'appropriation' is key to understanding how communities respond to disasters, and offers a new methodological approach. It suggests that cultural representations of disasters should be studied through the prism of appropriation. Both in the past and the present, people have crafted specific representations of disasters and used them as identity markers to create a sense of community. Appropriation involves attaching meaning to the disaster in order to make it comprehensible or even acceptable. This meaning was attached in two ways: through representation and identification. Representation is the substitution of a disastrous event with a cultural artefact, like an image or text, that corresponds to the event. Identification is the process by which people constantly relate themselves to other individuals and groups in terms of similarity and difference. To understand these processes, cultural historians should look at producers and consumers (who produced meaning in their turn) as well as the medium, genre, and discourses they can find in disaster representations. Highlights: Offers a new approach to study cultural representations of disaster. Shows that definitions of disasters should take into account how contemporaries define disasters. Argues that cultural appropriation is key to understanding how communities respond to disasters. Presents a new methodology for processing source material from the past. Considers the role of voice, genre, discourse and community building in the representation of disasters.