WAAT: “Mapping the Needs: Disabled People’s Experiences in Extreme Weather and Disasters”
Weekday Afternoon Anthropology Talks
February 9, 2026
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
BSB 2105
Calendar
Download iCal FileJoin us for a talk and lunch!
Speaker
Dr. Akemi Nishida, Associate Professor of Disability & Human Development and Gender & Women's Studies at UIC
Abstract
How do disability communities experience extreme weather and disasters? What can we learn about disasters by investigating the unique challenges they face? How do their visions for safety and security in disasters bring more equitable support programs? We often talk about disaster as if it affects everyone in the same way—as if its arrival, impacts, and aftermath are universally felt and addressed.
Emergency systems are assumed to be prepared, accessible, and ready to respond. But stories from disabled people across Chicagoland profoundly challenge such notions. They reveal how disaster experience is deeply intertwined with ongoing power dynamics.
Mapping the Needs of Chicagoland Disabled People in Disaster is a pilot study that investigates how disability communities navigate extreme weather and disasters, and what they identify as essential for feeling safe, secure, and cared for. Drawing from in-depth interviews, this presentation highlights preliminary findings that challenge dominant assumptions about disasters.
Date posted
Feb 3, 2026
Date updated
Feb 11, 2026