Unit 1

HURRICANE KATRINA, WATER MANAGEMENTAND AFRICAN AMERICANS IN NEW ORLEANS

This unit introduces subjects that frame our study of culture, race and natural resource management in the course. First, we discuss concepts associated with the American Cultures requirement. Then we set the stage for understanding historical relationships between resource use and the experiences of different racial groups by examining social relations, ecosystems, and infrastructure development in New Orleans and southeastern Louisiana before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. We emphasize that culture and nature are not separate, but shape one another. And we explore power relations, property rights and visions of the social contract.

Quiz

Here are a few questions about this unit to try out!

Results

#1 Which of the following is considered a racial project?

Far right

Jim Crow Laws

All of these

None of these

#2 What did the Mississippi Flood Control Act of 1928 do?

Funded the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build diversions in the Mississippi River in an attempt to control flooding.

Funded the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build concrete levees, in addition to the natural levees, in an attempt to control flooding.

All of these

None of these

#3 What are informal property rights?

De jure rights that may be held in direct contradiction to the law and are not acknowledged under the law

De facto rights that may be held in direct contradiction to the law and are not acknowledged under the law

De jure rights that are explicitly acknowledged by the state or other authority which are protected under the law

finish