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Coming to Terms with Katrina and Its Aftermath
A Series of Public Forums
Open to the MSU and Greater Lansing Communities
We would like to thank everyone who participated in the Hurricane Katrina seminar series. If you were unable to attend any or all of the Katrina forums, you can view them here.
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The Cost of Marginalization: Place, Race, Class and Media in the Katrina Catastrophe
If you were unable to attend the first forum click here to see what you missed.
| Date: |
Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005 |
| Time: |
5:30-7:30 p.m. |
| Location: |
Natural Resources Building, Room 158 |
| Coordinators: |
Janet Lillie, Assistant Dean, MSU College of Communication Arts and Sciences |
| Assefa Mehretu, Associate Dean, MSU College of Social Science |
| Moderator: |
Bonnie Bucqueroux, Journalist, Specialist- Outreach, Journalism, College of Communication Arts and Sciences |
| Panelists: |
Susan Bitensky, Professor, College of Law, MSU |
| Kenneth Boyer, Professor, Economics, College of Social Science, MSU |
| Joe Darden, Professor, Geography, College of Social Science, MSU |
| Richard Peterson, Professor, Philosophy, College of Arts & Letters, MSU |
| Kim Piper-Aiken, Assistant Professor, Journalism, College of Communication Arts and Sciences |
| Laura Reese, Professor, Political Science, College of Social Science, MSU |
| Description: |
The catastrophe that visited the Gulf region in the wake of Hurricane Katrina demonstrated that exposure to the hurricane’s devastation was a function of place, race, class, and the media. People, who resided in certain parts of the city, who were mostly black and poor, and off the radar screen of the national media, bore the brunt of this natural calamity. What lessons can we learn? Could this have been prevented if the local, state and federal authorities were responsive to the plight of people in severe distress? Did nature simply expose life on the edge in poor communities? The panel will explore some of the fundamental causes that make poor people and minorities vulnerable to the loss of basic protections against dangers produced by nature and by humans and the role the media play in public perceptions and understanding of race and poverty, particularly in a time of crisis. |
The City at the End of the River: A Seminar on the unique setting, geology, engineering, history and culture of New Orleans
| Date: |
Thursday, Oct. 6, 2005 |
| Time: |
5:30-7:30 p.m. |
| Location: |
Wells, Room B-108 |
| Moderator: |
Ralph Taggart, Chair and Professor, Geological Sciences, College of Natural Science, MSU (Session Co-Coordinator, Panelist) |
| Panelists: |
Louise Jezierski, Associate Professor, Urban Sociology, James Madison College, MSU |
| Percy Pierre, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering, MSU (and New Orleans Resident) |
| John (Jack) P. Smith, Associate Professor, Learning, Technology and Culture Program, College of Education |
| Thomas F. Wolff, Associate Dean and Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, MSU (Session Co-Coordinator) |
| Description: |
From the outset, New Orleans was both sustained and threatened by the river, leading to the creation of a huge engineering, social, and political infrastructure to attempt to protect the city from its own success. This session will explore questions such as: How did much of New Orleans come to be settled below sea level? What do we need to know about delta systems, and developing on them? What economic, political and engineering forces came together to build an elaborate systems of levees and pumps to protect the city? Why weren't these designed for the event that occurred? And how did such a culturally rich city emerge at such a vulnerable location? This seminar will also provide an opportunity for attendees to ask questions and explore these issues with the panelists. |
Katrina’s Impact on Human Health: Now and for Generations to Come
| Date: |
Monday, Oct. 10, 2005 |
| Time: |
5:30-7:30 p.m. |
| Location: |
Natural Resources Building, Room 158 |
| Moderators: |
Jo Ann McFall, LMSW, ACSW, RN, Associate Director for Field Education, School of Social Work, MSU (Session Co-Coordinator) |
| Teresa Wehrwein, PhD, RN, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Professional Partnerships and Faculty Practice, College of Nursing, MSU (Session Co-Coordinator) |
| Panelists: |
Margaret Aguwa, DO, MPH, Professor and Associate Dean for Community Outreach and Clinical Research, College of Osteopathic Medicine, MSU |
| Valerie Chadwick, DVM, Assistant Professor, Small Animal Clinical Services, College of Veterinary Medicine, MSU |
| Peter Gulick, DO, FACP, Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Osteopathic Medicine, MSU |
| Sandra Johnson, LMSW, ACSW, Clinical Board Appointed Faculty, School of Social Work, Co-Coordinator of the Disaster Mental Health Team for Mid-Michigan Red Cross |
| Pamela Nethery, MSN, APRN, BC, FNP, Instructor, College of Nursing, MSU |
| Sherri Solomon, BSN, MPA, President and CEO St. Vincent Catholic Charities |
| Description: |
This program will explore the impact of Hurricane Katrina on human health, including the physical and behavioral health implications for Gulf residents and relief workers. This will be followed by a discussion of the MSU and Greater Lansing community response. The presentation will also include the opportunity to dialogue with health professionals experienced in disaster relief. |
Instructors may also be interested in Teaching in a Time of National Crisis:Focus on Hurricane Katrina.
For more information on the individual seminars, contact the session coordinators. For more information about the seminar series or to provide suggestions or comments, please contact Deborah DeZure, Office of Faculty and Organizational Development, ddezure@msu.edu, 432-5125.
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