The ‘Culture of Disaster’ Student Immersion Project: First-Hand Research to Learn about Disaster Recovery after a Colorado Flood

Abstract

Wherever disaster occurs, there are opportunities for student learning. This case presents one such replicable project, with impacts on students’ lifelong learning and potentially transformative in shaping career choices to enter the disaster field. Specifically, it details the collaborative efforts of disaster anthropologist Kate Browne and anthropology graduate student and researcher Trevor Even to create a student learning opportunity about disaster recovery following a Fall 2013 flooding disaster in northern Colorado. Here, we attempt to tell the story of the project, including the unusually robust learning outcomes achieved by students, the content of student research, group analyses and findings, and the final collaborative student presentation of this work to city authorities and the Long Term Recovery Group heading up the recovery efforts.