Dr. Eric L. Hirsch, sitting in his Howley Hall office, holds After the Flood. The book’s images inspired his seminar students to raise funds to rehabilitate a home ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

The tragedy and fallout from Katrina—one of the most devastating hurricanes ever to strike the United States—live on for Dr. Eric L. Hirsch, professor of sociology and interim director of the black studies program.

 A fervent advocate of social justice awareness, with an
acute concern for the homeless, Hirsch developed and taught a course on the August 2005 hurricane during the Fall 2007 semester. The seminar, Hurricane Katrina: Anatomy of a Social Disaster, proved so meaningful to the 12 students and Hirsch that he plans to teach it again in the fall 2008 semester.

 The seminar examined the social and political aspects of the hurricane and its effects on New Orleans. The disaster unofficially killed more than 1,800 people and destroyed the homes of thousands of others.

 Students, who had to write an essay on why they wanted to take the course before being selected, were required to read numerous periodical and online articles, write a term paper, give an oral presentation on the topic of the paper, and participate in a class-based service project to benefit victims of Katrina.

 According to Hirsch, the course appealed to students because it touched on issues ranging from class and race—approximately two-thirds of New Orleans residents at the time of the hurricane were African Americans—to politics, engineering, and housing. Discussions included media and governmental response to the hurricane, he noted.

 “It brought in so many different aspects of people’s lives and society in general . . . and the topic hasn’t been exhausted yet,” said Hirsch. “Just seeing it on the news, you have no idea of the complexity of experiences facing people.”

 The class discussed several ideas for its service project but settled upon raising money to rehabilitate a ravaged home after viewing photographs by Robert Polidori in After the Flood (Staidly, 2006).

 “When the news cameras are there,” said Hirsch, “you don’t see the inside of people’s homes. The students saw these images, and it led them to want to help someone directly.”

 The students solicited donations in residence halls, dining facilities, and elsewhere on campus. They also collected donations during a film and discussion session they organized.

 These efforts, combined with appeals by Hirsch to colleagues, boosted the fund-raising total to $2,000. The funds will be used to help restore the home of a homeowner who runs a youth employment training program in New Orleans.

 Students said the course impressed upon them the importance of social justice and that the needs of many hurricane victims continue to go unmet.

 “I was already aware of how the drastic inequities in New Orleans shaped the impact and outcome of the story and the response to what ensued,” said Gina M. Santiago ’09. “But, I was surprised to learn that very little has been done, on local and national levels, to benefit and mitigate the plight of the thousands of individuals and their families who survived the devastation, have lost their homes, and have no community to which to return.”

 “It is obvious that the hurricane itself was uncontrollable, but the events surrounding the hurricane are what arguably could be considered the greatest man-made disaster in our history,” added Kyle Harrison ’08.