The first Governing Emergencies network workshop will take place on the 23rd and 24th September 2014 at the Royal Geographical Society in London.

Emergencies appear to be a defining feature of life today, whether in relation to terrorism, the credit-crunch, urban unrest, or weather related events. How do states and other organisations such as NGOs plan for and respond to these and other emergencies? And what are the consequences of ways of governing emergencies for life today?

Programme of the Workshop

Tuesday 23rd September

Introduction to the Workshop and Network: Governing Emergencies by Ben Anderson

Session 1: Emergency and Crisis and Catastrophe and …

How does the term emergency connect to and differ from other ways of dealing with things falling apart, including crisis and catastrophe, but also accident, incident or disruption? What assumptions does ‘emergency’ carry about order and disorder, about continuity and discontinuity, about events and non-events?

With contributions from Janet Roitman, Stephen Collier and Mathew Kearnes

Session 2: Events and Non-Events

How are events of different types and forms ‘grasped and handled’ if governed as emergencies? What is the specific ‘mode of eventfulness’ that characterizes emergency and how do particular ways of understanding events become part of ways of governing emergencies?

With contributions from Claudia Aradau,Rachel Gordon, Nat O’Grady, Ben Anderson, Simon Marvin, Andres Luque, and Kezia Barker.

Session 3: Contemporary Logics

How are emergencies governed today? How have specific logics and techniques emerged, changed and been deployed? What are the consequences – political and ethical – of specific logics and techniques? 

With contributions from Stefan Elbe, Emily Gilbert, Paul Langley and Sven Optiz

Wednesday 24th September

Session 4: Techniques/Technologies

How do specific techniques become part of emergency governance and with what consequences? What is the relation between ordinary techniques/technologies and emergency/disaster? How do techniques matter?

With contributions from Marieke de Goede and Joe Deville

 Session 5: Emergency Topologies

How do emergencies and disasters happen as particular social forms in complex relation with ‘normality’? How do presents, pasts and futures enfold and relate as emergencies are governed? What kind of spatialities are produced and enacted as emergencies are prepared for, preempted, responded to or recovered from?

With contributions from Michael Guggenheim, Peter Adey, Ute Tellman and Aurora Fredriksen

Session: 6 After Emergency

What are the politics and aesthetics of governing through resilience before, in and after times of crisis or disaster?

With contribution from Stephanie Simon, Samuel Randalls and Kevin Grove

To known more about the event and/or the Leverhulme Trust International Network Governing Emergencies, contact: Dr Rachel Gordon

See the website of the Network Governing emergencies