Going back to Mexico, at this point, is always a treat. Not only did I have the chance of seeing old friends and acquaintances, walking the lovely yet unevenly paved streets, and struggle against my role in the gentrification of the city, but also it was a wonderful and productive experience for my project. I socialized my ideas, received interesting feedback, and came back with new books in my suitcase.
I had a chance of discussing during a graduate workshop the spaces of connection and tension between discourses of modernization and the role of disasters in Japan during the first half of the twentieth century, creating parallels with the function catastrophes have had for Mexico.
More importantly, I was invited to conduct a master class on Disaster Narratives in the Anthropocene, which was a fantastic opportunity to put to a test my current work and bring home interesting thought-provoking comments from the very active audience.
My special thanks too to professor Matías Chiappe for extending the invitation to work with you and the rest of our colleagues at El Colegio de México and for acting as a gracious host throughout my stay.
Jordi Serrano-Muñoz 