EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE ANNOUNCEMENT

The Emergency Management Institute is pleased to announce that the first of FEMA's Higher Education Project college-level emergency management related courses are now available:

(1) The Sociology of Disaster -- A 278 page instructor guide (IG) meant as a resource for sociology professors planning a course for undergraduate university students. Recommended topics and reading assignments are appropriate for juniors or seniors majoring in the social sciences. The theoretical and methodological emphases are consistent with courses typically offered within departments of sociology. Topics include: theoretical approaches to disaster research, theory of disaster response, and the sociological impact of disaster on communities.

(2) The Social Dimensions of Disaster -- This 619 page Instructor Guide focuses on the social aspects of disaster and their relevance to the practice of emergency management. Thus, the recommended topics and reading assignments are appropriate for juniors or seniors who are majoring or minoring in emergency management, a related field such as sociology or public administration, or who are enrolled in an emergency management certificate program. Topics include: disaster mythology patterns, public response to disaster warnings, victim and non-victim responses to disaster, disaster stress and denial, crisis decision making, disaster recovery and community change, and community and organizational response to disaster.

These two courses are the first in a series of approximately 20 classroom-based courses which will comprise a suggested emergency management curriculum at the upper division college level.

A goal of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is to encourage and support the expansion of emergency management related education in colleges and universities across the U.S. We believe that in the future more emergency managers in government and the private sector will come to the job not only with a college education, but with a major in emergency management as well.

These courses are available electronically via the Internet. To review or acquire a copy use the following universal resource location (URL): http://www.fema.gov/EMI/edu/higher.htm.

Paper copies are available from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Call 1-800-553-NTIS for cost and ordering information. Reference the NTIS order number PB97-115380 for The Sociology of Disaster, and PB97-115372 for The Social Dimensions of Disaster.

Questions concerning the Higher Education Project can be addressed to:

Wayne Blanchard, PhD, CEM
c/o the Federal Emergency Management Agency
NETC/EMI, Building N, Room 430
16825 S. Seton Ave.
Emmitsburg, MD 21727
(301) 447-1262 or email: wayne.blanchard@fema.gov