Cultural interventions through children’s literature and arts-based practices in times of disaster: a case study of reading mediators’ response to the Mexican earthquakes (September 2017)

Hirsu, L. , Arizpe, E. and McAdam, J. (2020) Cultural interventions through children’s literature and arts-based practices in times of disaster: a case study of reading mediators’ response to the Mexican earthquakes (September 2017). International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 51, 101797. (doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101797) (PMID:32834977) (PMCID:PMC7425675)

Abstract

Recent natural disasters have challenged current models of crisis management and intervention, demanding speedy, flexible and emergent social actors to respond at multiple levels. To provide a comprehensive response, top-down models have incorporated the critical role played by citizen-volunteers in assisting communities in distress. However, few post-crisis response models have identified new social actors who can contribute with creative, coordinated, and sustainable solutions. In this article, we present the case study of the 2017 Mexican earthquakes and the post-disaster activities developed by an emergent group of social actors — reading mediators. We argue for the critical role of mediators and their use of children’s literature and arts-based practices as essential instruments for community reconstruction. Drawing upon a case study methodology, we share the mediators’ post-disaster activities and experiences in four stages: immediate recovery, stabilisation, development and consolidation. We argue that such cultural interventions are essential in assisting communities recover and build resilience and, more importantly, new social actors such as reading mediators need further formal and institutional support. In this sense, el Protocolo, the cultural protocol developed in response to the mediators’ work, stands as an exemplary model that complements the emergent and distributed actions of reading mediators. As a whole, the Mexican cultural response provides a unique comprehensive approach that could be modeled in other contexts to address the needs of all citizens in vulnerable post-disaster circumstances.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: McAdam, Dr Julie and Arizpe, Professor Evelyn and Hirsu, Dr Lavinia
• Authors: Hirsu, L., Arizpe, E., and McAdam, J.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education; College of Social Sciences > School of Education > Culture, Literacies, Inclusion & Pedagogy
• Journal Name: International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 2212-4209
• ISSN (Online): 2212-4209
• Published Online: 13 August 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 The Authors
• First Published: First published in International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 51: 101797
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
300097		Arizpe - Network proposal	Evelyn Arizpe	Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)	AHR004218/1	ED - Education