As relief efforts continued halfway across the world on Wednesday, around 20 students braved the rain in Philadelphia for a lunch and discussion about the ongoing Japanese disaster with History professor Frederick Dickinson.
The event, hosted by the History Undergraduate Advisory Board in College Hall, was one of several campus events organized in response to the 8.9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11. The goal was to “create a space for history majors and non-majors to discuss issues in a more informal setting,” HUAB Co-Chairwoman and College senior Ilana Gromis said.
“We cannot prevent everything,” said Dickinson, referring to the fact that even a modern, industrialized nation such as Japan could not be completely prepared for a disaster of such magnitude.
A scholar in Japanese history, Dickinson began the discussion by stressing that Japan is “an earthquake nation,” with sophisticated mechanisms in place to deal with natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis. He characterized the current situation in Japan as “shocking” because of the devastating human and economic costs that resulted despite the defense mechanisms in place.
The overall lesson, he said, is that “we are all vulnerable.”
Dickinson added that, from a historical point of view, it does not make sense to generalize about Japan based on the current government’s response to this particular crisis.
He said to view this as an opportunity to see Japan as a nation that the United States can identify with. Instead of thinking about Japan’s problems as isolated, Dickinson said this should be “the beginning of a conversation that deals with global issues.” Witnessing Japan address this disaster should lead the United States to reflect on how it would cope with a similar situation, he said.
In response to a student’s question, Dickinson noted that he senses in the Japanese leadership “clarity and a renewed sense of vigor and mission” resulting from the current crisis.
Dickinson said he believes the island nation will be able to overcome the crisis in a way that shows that it is still a major world power.
College senior Anne Huang said she appreciated that Dickinson noted how “specific actions of the leaders are not representative of essential cultural characteristics of the Japanese.”
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