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Environmental Studies Department |
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The Mac Weekly - September 30, 2005 Faculty Host Teach-in on Katrina By Maggie Thompson, Contributing Writer Members of the Macalester community gathered in the John B. Davis lecture hall on Sept. 22 to engage in a dialogue about the Gulf Coast crisis and its implications for both that region and the nation as a whole. The event--a teach-in entitled "The Katrina Crisis: A Window on Our National Condition"--drew nearly one hundred students, faculty and community members. A group of faculty, brought together by History professors Peter Rachleff and Jim Stewart, organized last Thursday's event as the first in a series. The professors involved come from numerous departments, including History, Political Science, Environmental Studies and American Studies. This variety reflects a deliberate attempt by the group to address the crisis from numerous perspectives. "We wanted to turn what's undeniably a tragedy into a teaching moment," said organizer and Environmental History professor Chris Wells. Religious Studies professor Paula Cooey opened the night by stating that the mission of the teach-in was to "enhance social justice activism" and to address the long-term issues that were involved in the crisis, such as economic corruption, environmental abuse, governmental failure and racial injustice. "The human faces once invisible for their long-term suffering were visible for one intense moment," she said. "Our charge: to refuse in every way to render them invisible again." Environmental Studies professor Chris Wells addressed the environmental history of the Gulf region, and questioned whether Katrina's devastation should be labeled a "natural disaster." "This storm was truly a disaster, but hardly one we can describe as natural," Wells said. "The storm exposed a host of environmental problems in the Gulf region, such as poorly handled industrial waste, submerged landfills in poor neighborhoods, and the draining of swamps that were New Orleans' natural defense from hurricanes." Jane Rhodes, Dean for the Study of Race and Ethnicity and American Studies professor, spoke on issues of the media and its coverage of Katrina, noting the media's "preoccupation with looters - marauding gangs of black men terrorizing New Orleans." However, Rhodes said that she has also noticed a shift in the coverage, from horror and outrage to more of a focus on racial disparities. She urged students to encourage media integrity by supporting independent media and by being critical of mainstream media. The panel also included Political Science professor Sarita Gregory, who spoke of the place of politics in the crisis. She spoke of the government's responsibility to victims of the disaster, saying that the victims should be viewed not as "those people" but as fellow Americans to whom we all have a responsibility. Local spoken word artist T. Michael Rambo also touched on this theme, performing a piece questioning the labeling of Katrina victims as "refugees." He said "The word refugee disenfranchises victims by making them the `other,' giving us only a detached sense of empathy." |
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