Professor Richard M. Mizelle, Jr.
Center for Race and Ethnicity
Katrina, Race, and Environmental Disasters in Historical Perspective
TTH 5th Period 

In August of 2005 Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region, killing thousands of people and displacing many more. Katrina brought daily images of pain and suffering into the world’s living rooms. Outrage quickly ensued regarding the slow response of the federal government and the inadequacy of levees to protect the citizens of New Orleans.  Phrases such as “man-made” disaster and “unnatural,” while familiar to environmental historians and those who have survived environmental catastrophes, now became common in the media.  Katrina, Race, and Environmental Disasters in Historical Perspective delves into the multiple meanings of Katrina within a framework of environmental history and disasters in America.  By understanding the history of some of the United States’ more notable and catastrophic environmental disasters such as the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, 1927 Mississippi River Flood, Great Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, Mississippi River Flood of 1993, and Princeville, North Carolina Flood of 1999, the course will provide a broad overview of some of the pertinent debates informing discussions around Hurricane Katrina.

The course will then move into a discussion of Katrina, focusing specifically on such important themes as displacement and homelessness; the different portrayals of black and white flood sufferers in local and national media outlets; the vulnerability of populations dependent on public transportation in New Orleans and their difficulty evacuating the city; and questions of health including the mental fatigue associated with loss and despair and the experiences of special needs groups such as dialysis/diabetic patients. 

This course is being designed and taught through the Department of History and the new Rutgers Center for Race and Ethnicity. The course is offered in collaboration with Rutgers University faculty from various departments and disciplines involved in the production of an innovative and collaborative edited volume on Hurricane Katrina. This course will depart from a more traditional format by featuring a series of guest lectures from Rutgers faculty involved with the new Center and edited volume project from the Departments of History, English, Geography, Psychology, Urban Policy and Planning, Labor Studies, Political Science, and Women’s Studies.  The result will provide students with a wide variety of perspectives and expert analysis from scholars throughout the Rutgers University community.