The Social Construction of Disaster: Sociology of Earthquakes in Türkiye

The Social Construction of Disaster in Türkiye: Sociology of Earthquakes in Türkiye Has Been Published!

The book The Social Construction of Disaster in Türkiye: Sociology of Earthquakes in Türkiye, edited by Prof. Dr. Ulaş Sunata, Founding Director of the Bahçeşehir University Migration and Urban Studies Application and Research Center (BAUMUS), and published by Nika Publishing, has reached its readers.

Edited by BAUMUS Founding Director Prof. Dr. Ulaş Sunata, the book The Social Construction of Disaster in Türkiye: Sociology of Earthquakes in Türkiye was published by Nika Publishing in January 2024 and took its place on the shelves. The book not only highlights how, after the February 6 earthquake, sociologists came together with experts from different disciplines, such as urban planners, architects, civil engineers, political scientists, public administrators, civil society actors, journalists and search and rescue teams, for collective academic production for the public good, but also reveals the social "fault lines" of earthquakes in Türkiye by reading the earthquake in the field of disaster sociology through the concepts of culture, politics, the hazard-disaster relationship, risk, danger, vulnerability, space, city, planning, migration, building-zoning relations, volunteerism and solidarity.

In addition, the book draws attention to the connection between buildings and people, stating: "To understand an earthquake, one must of course understand the ground, but more importantly, the building on it. And understanding the building is only possible by understanding the human. It is humans who construct the building, humans who take the measurements on that ground, humans who grant the zoning permit, and humans who live in the building. When an earthquake strikes, it is humans who are trapped under the rubble. It is also humans who rush to give first aid, who stand out with their altruism or draw attention with their selfishness... Even if it is not humans who shake the ground, it is humans who turn the earthquake into a disaster."

Consisting of six main sections, each expanded and detailed with subsections, the work explains the sociology of earthquakes in Türkiye to readers while also addressing earthquakes from many different perspectives, such as migration, justice and planning.