Journal: The only thing to read so far is AD: After the Deluge, so journal should focus on this material. about whatever aspects of the story interest but bear in mind that will be doing research in this course about some topic, of the choice, related to the intersection of people and natural disasters, so let that focus guide your reading and writing in these entries also welcome to connect this reading to current observations about the unfolding situation regarding a current global disaster, but remember: focus is research and analysis, so when writing about what is reading/watching on that, pay attention to the sources. Where are hearing what hearing? How reliable is it? Whose interests might it represent?
read A.D. New Orleans After the at http://www.smithmag.net/afterthedeluge– to consider some news coverage about another contemporary disaster (around the world, flooding, wildfires, and earthquakes have thrown lives into disarray in the past year) to offer additional insight/perspective.
read, think about the following:
If you were in Katrina-endangered 2005 New Orleans right now, what course of action might you follow? As you read each character’s story and consider his or her choices, ask yourself “would I do that, if I were living in this person’s circumstances? Why or why not?”
What kinds of help could these people have used that might have made their experiences very different? Don’t just brush off the question with “the government”–which government, and what specific aid are you thinking of? What other organizations do you know of that might have made a difference? And at the more local level, what could individuals, businesses, or professional organizations have done?
What have you learned, or are you learning, in your field of study that might help you understand what happens to these characters? (What choices they make, what problems they encounter, how they handle those problems, etc.) For example, if you’re a psychology major, what psychological traits and trends do you see playing out in this story? If you’re a sociology major, what aspects of the society (or societies) presented here seem to be working well vs. not working well? If you’re a business major, what kind of business sense do you see the shop owners exhibiting (or don’t you)?