- Between weeks 8 and 12, each student should provide a weekly reflection (500 words) on the data you have collected to date.
- What data did you collect?
- What is your initial impression of the data?
- How have the data you have collected this week changed/progressed your thinking about your research project?
- What challenges did you encounter while collecting the data?
- What are your next steps?
After reading Professor Basarans comments, I decided what would be beneficial at this time would be stopping reading more research and putting together an outline to understand my argument. Camp’s book opened my eyes to counter-insurgency response efforts in Hurricane Katrina; He argues that by defining domestic enemies in terms of race and class, the government was able to deploy military security forces and create a successful neoliberal carceral-security state. But there are aspects that he did not analyze in his chapter that will prove helpful in mine.
One way that I would like to change my paper is have more in-depth analysis of New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina. Although Camp briefly mentions this in his book, understanding the conditions that existed prior to the Hurricane provide tremendous insight into why the government was able to put in place a neoliberal carceral-security state, and how it thrived.
Similarly, I think an important piece of creating this state had to do with the media response at this time. Analyzing the language that was used by news papers depiction of whites and blacks only deepens my argument. I was able to find different headlines and articles to compare and contrast.
One worry that I have is that my paper will mirror Camp’s chapter from the book too much like you said. I think focusing on different aspects will definitely help differentiate them. I plan on coming into office horus this week to discuss my paper more. I have never written a paper of this magnitude in a long time, and my nerves are definitely starting to get in my way.
Sexton, Jared. What Lies Beneath: Katrina, Race, and the state of a nation. Cambridge, Mass. : South End Press, 2007.
Sexton’s book give great detail into the lives of survivors of Hurricane Katrina. He focuses on how poor people of color were left to face the Hurricane alone. He places special emphasis on the individuals left in prisons, nursing homes, and on the street. Similarly, he introduces how survivors were pictured as ‘looters’ post Hurricane, rather than doing what they could to fight for their lives. His thesis: Those who are poor, vulnerable, and not white are not valued by the US government.” Although I have only read a chapter from this book, I believe it will be very helpful in my analysis.
Ranajit Guha- “the prose of counter-insurgency”
Although this article analyzes uprisings in British Raj India, the author highlights that many historians do not take into account an individual’s own consciousness into taking part in an uprising. They often see their response as part of the narrative based on the social and economic conditions of the area at the time. This analysis mirrors many of our in class discussions on being a conscious agent in one’s own life. I think this piece will provide more supporting analysis.
Stuart Hall- policing the crisis: mugging, the state, and law and order
After reading, it focuses heavily on mugging. I do not think it will be helpful in my analysis, but will keep it in my tool box if an area to expand upon comes up.
Comments:
I am glad to see that you are trying to broaden your focus. It would be fine if your argument will be similar to Camp’s. But you will go deeper into this case than Camp did and hopefully show other aspects of the disaster that Camp does not talk about.
I would be happy to talk more about your project on Thursday.