Resilience processes during cosmology episodes: Lessons learned from the haiti earthquake

Abstract

The Haiti earthquake of January 2010 serves as an anchor for a new field of research on the role of spirituality in international large-scale catastrophes. Using the case study of one Haitian grandmother affected by the earthquake as a microcosmic representation of the Haitian people, we build an interdisciplinary theory of spirituality in extreme contexts. First, we identify 2 management theory concepts that we found useful: “cosmology episodes” and “sensemaking processes.” Second, through a comparative case study—juxtaposing our findings from the Haiti earthquake of 2010 with Weick’s (1993) findings from the Mann Gulch forest fire of 1949—we elaborate on 5 resilience processes that collectively constitute the anatomy of a cosmology episode: anticipating, sense-losing, improvising, sense-remaking, and renewing (or declining). Third, we initiate a more advanced conversation by reinterpreting literature from the psychology of religion and spirituality related to cosmology episodes, by focusing attention on the dynamics of spirituality-imbued transformative pivots within cosmology episodes, and by exploring the role of divine inspiration in cosmology episodes such as the Haiti earthquake. Finally, we call for more interdis-ciplinary collaboration (e.g., psychology, anthropology, sociology, management, political science, and theology) on the complex topic of the role of spirituality in resilience processes during international cosmology episodes.