Emergent Conversation 26

Commissioned and Edited by Eve Helms

“Asheville’s River Arts District Five Weeks After Helene.” By Bill McMannis. CCBY 2.0.

Early anthropological research on disaster risk paved the way for scholars across the social sciences to theorize how social vulnerability shapes disaster impacts and recovery outcomes, and these insights gradually began to influence global policy. Over the past three decades, vulnerability has become a standard part of disaster policy and research. It is referenced in strategic plans, risk assessments, and recovery programs across institutions. Yet as it has become more established, its meanings and uses have multiplied. It now functions as both an analytic framework and a policy category, bridging social theory and administrative practice while never fitting entirely within either.

This series acknowledges that reality by having anthropologists reflect on their place within it. If vulnerability is here to stay, how can it be applied to build policies and programs that are equitable, practical, and impactful in addressing the realities of risk? And what should be the role and responsibilities of anthropologists in that effort?