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 interdisciplinary 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.