Collaborative Research: REU: Community Reactions to Extreme Weather Events

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The proposed research project develops an understanding of collective mobilization and civic policy by examining community responses to extreme weather events. This project assesses how these extreme weather events may impact public awareness, community action, and civic response to issues of climate change. By undertaking a systematic comparative case analysis of communities in the United States which recently experienced extreme weather events, we will seek to understand under what conditions and via what mechanisms communities undertake significant climate-related actions following an extreme weather event. Through this study, we mean to bring the insights of two distinct literatures to bear on the question of variable community response: the general literature on social movements and the more specialized scholarship on climate change awareness and action from the fields of environmental sociology and psychology. The project will employ fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis and a variety of data collection techniques, including data from newspapers, site visits and interviews, and community to surveys. The PIs will employ both graduate and undergraduate students in its implementation. Its interdisciplinary nature, which combines both sociological and technical expertise, will provide a unique opportunity for teaching, training and learning for these students. The research also has important implications beyond the academy. Scholars, civic leaders, and the public are paying increasing attention to the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. A host of real world actors are eager to understand the dynamic processes that mediate between awareness and action. By learning more about the factors and processes that convert awareness into action, stakeholders would be in a much better position to serve as agents helping to address critical challenges. Progress on this front can turn the teachable moments that arise with extreme weather events into lessons that can be applied in practical contexts.