Science, Technology, and Society Program, Politics Program, Human Rights Program, Asian Studies Program, and Japanese Studies, and The Henry Luce Foundation Present
Brave New Sanriku:
Recovering from Japan's Triple Disaster
Thursday, October 15, 2015
RKC 103
6:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
6:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
by Dr. Ramona Bajema
Ramona Bajema has spent the past four years searching through the post-triple disaster remains to understand what cannot be washed away by a 100-meter high wave that obliterated entire cities, leaving only scraps, shards, and severed lives. The wave left debris in its wake, but there have been intangible forces that it could not erase—traces of memory, ghosts, and rituals that gave new life to long-abandoned public works projects, machi-tsukuri (town-building) plans, and disaster tourism. In addition to the clean-up of contaminated areas in Fukushima, a second wave of “recovery” and “reconstruction” has swept through northeastern Japan powered by slogans of hope and solidarity to people in despair hoping to go back in time. Bajema will discuss some of her observations of Sanriku’s recovery as she has witnessed them since 2011.For more information, call 845-758-6822, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 6:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Location: RKC 103