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The Katrina Research Team has generated a number of publications and a documentary film, engaged in a variety of public talks as well as conference presentations, and designed Katrina-specific teaching materials. Information about funding for these projects is also included here. For short descriptions of this work, please click on any of the links below or scroll down the page to see the complete list.
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Ginny Martin and Kate Browne. Still Waiting: Life After Katrina. Documentary film, 60 minutes. Broadcast on PBS stations in August, September, and October 2007.
Abstract: Still Waiting is a collaborative project of two-time Emmy winning filmmaker Ginny Martin, and Kate Browne, Afro-Creole specialist and professor of anthropology at Colorado State University. The documentary was filmed over 18 months between October 2005 and March 2007 and was funded by National Science Foundation, Colorado State University, and Women in Film. Still Waiting documents the remarkable
story of resilience, family, and attachment to place of an extended African-American family of more than 150 individuals. The role of race, women, family, food, and faith are integral to the content and provide powerful
teaching opportunities. The film’s website includes a low resolution streaming video of the film, a link showing reactions to the documentary, PBS broadcast schedules, and information on ordering a DVD for personal or institutional use. Visit:
http://www.stillwaiting.colostate.edu/
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Fothergill, Alice and Lori Peek. “Surviving Catastrophe: A Study of Children in Hurricane
Katrina.” Learning from Catastrophe: Quick Response Research in the Wake of Hurricane
Katrina, pp. 97-130. Boulder: Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado.
Abstract: In this research, we examined children’s experiences in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in an effort to contribute to the disaster literature on this important, and
understudied, topic. Specifically, we explored the following research questions: (1) What were the children’s experiences in the disaster?; (2) What are others doing for the children to lessen their vulnerability?; and (3) What are children doing for themselves and others to reduce disaster impacts? Data were gathered through participant observation, focus groups, and interviews with parents, grandparents, daycare workers, school
administrators, elementary school teachers, mental health service providers, religious leaders, and evacuee shelter coordinators in Louisiana. We found that despite the diversity of experiences and family situations, there were also many commonalities in terms of the ways in which parents and others worked to safely evacuate children, get them enrolled in school, and reestablish routines, and the ways in which children formed new friendships and tried to adjust to the upheaval in their lives. Our study supports the idea that children are both vulnerable in disasters and need assistance from adults, but also that they are resilient and can find ways to
effectively cope.
View the full article.
Peek, Lori.“Children and Disasters: Understanding Vulnerability, Developing Capacities,
and Promoting Resilience – An Introduction.” Children, Youth, and Environments 18(1): 1-
29.
Abstract: This comprehensive overview of the literature on children and disasters argues that scholars and practitioners should more carefully consider the experiences of children
themselves. As the frequency and intensity of disaster events increase around the globe, children are among those most at risk for the negative effects of disaster. Children are psychologically vulnerable and may develop
post-traumatic stress disorder or related symptoms; are physically vulnerable to death, injury, illness, and abuse; and often experience disruptions or delays in their educational progress as a result of disasters.
Children have special needs and may require different forms of physical, social, mental, and emotional support than adults. However, children also have the capacity to contribute to disaster preparedness, response, and
recovery activities. In order to promote children’s resilience to disasters, we must improve their access to resources, empower them by encouraging their participation, offer support, and ensure equitable treatment.
View the full article.
Peek, Lori and Alice Fothergill. “Displacement, Gender, and the Challenges of
Parenting after Hurricane Katrina.” National Women’s Studies Association Journal.
Abstract: In emergency situations and in the aftermath of disaster, parents are essential in caring for children. Yet very little has been written explicitly about the experiences of
mothers and fathers – either as individuals or partners – in post-disaster contexts. With the understanding that parenting is a gendered endeavor that occurs in a society stratified by race and class, this article focuses
on the responses of mothers and fathers to Hurricane Katrina. This article draws on data gathered in Louisiana through observations, focus groups, and in-depth interviews with parents and other adults responsible for the
care of children. Through a qualitative analysis, this research examines the strategies that mothers and fathers used to deal with the challenges of parenting in the aftermath of Katrina, the role of advocates who worked
on behalf of families, the importance of kin networks, and the uniqueness of New Orleans and what the city means for families struggling to recover after the storm.
Peek, Lori and Alice Fothergill. Forthcoming. “Using Focus Groups: Lessons from Studying
Daycare Centers, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina.” Qualitative Research.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to examine focus groups as a qualitative research method. We describe and evaluate the use of focus groups based on three separate research
projects: a study of teachers, parents, and children at two urban daycare centers; a study of the responses of second-generation Muslim Americans to the events of September 11; and a collaborative project on the
experiences of children and youth following Hurricane Katrina. By examining three different projects, we are able to assess some of the strengths and challenges of the focus group as a research method. In addition, we
analyze the design and implementation of focus groups, including information on participant recruitment, the most effective group size, group composition and issues of segmentation, how to carry out focus groups, and the
ideal number of groups to conduct. We pay particular attention to the ways in which focus groups may serve a social support or empowerment function, and our research points to the strength of using this method with
marginalized, stigmatized, or vulnerable individuals.
Underhill, Megan. Forthcoming. “The Invisible Toll of Katrina: How Social and Economic Capital is Altering the Recovery Experience among Katrina Evacuees in Colorado.” In Political
Economy of Hazards and Disasters, edited by A. Murphy and E. Jones. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.
Abstract: This paper explores how evacuees from New Orleans have tried to reconstitute their lives in Colorado. I sought to identify the social and economic capital of residents and to
then demonstrate how such resources have differentially affected people’s recovery in Colorado. I consider a person’s class, race, and degree of social connectivity in Louisiana and in Colorado and analyze how these
resource disparities and continuities impacted the ability to recover from massive economic loss. Focusing largely on questions about how individuals use kin and friendship networks as an economic strategy, I was able to
generate data regarding access to assistance, information, and opportunities in the different settings. I conducted formal interviews with 30 African American and white evacuees and used a variety of ethnographic
methods including: participant observation, informal interviews, in-depth semi-structured interviews, and structured interviews. My findings and analysis are elaborated in this manuscript.
Browne, Katherine E. “The Role of Gender in Still Waiting: Life After Katrina.” Author’s Reflection. National Women’s Studies Association Journal.
Abstract: Still Waiting: Life After Katrina leads many viewers to comment on the strength and centrality of women in the family of 155 individuals that the filmmaker and I followed.
However, this woman-centered film rises not from a decision to showcase women’s voices or experiences, but from the truths that came to light through steady, ethnographic work. Over a period of 18 months, we became
students of the family’s nightmare and their struggles to find a way back to life as they had known it. As we interviewed all variety of people at different stages of grief and recovery, many key stories, personalities,
and themes emerged naturally. The force of women became an undeniable theme: through storytelling, cooking, and ritual gatherings, key women reproduced a sense of belonging and continuity amidst the upheaval, displacement, and confusion of life away from home. Women galvanized others in the network to get organized, stay connected, practice their faith, and face with courage the overwhelming odds that threatened every member of the group.
And, beyond the details of their own stories, the women in Still Waiting capture a larger social truth about African American families and the multiple ways that women manage and sustain their kin networks, however
profound the challenges.
View the full article.
Browne, Katherine E. “The Trouble with Katrina Fatigue.” Op-ed piece published in Northern Colorado newspapers and in several major metropolitan newspapers including Raleigh-Durham Times, Austin American Statesman, and the Denver Post. August and September 2007
Abstract: Americans are tired of thinking about Katrina. We are tuned out or fed up — tired of staggering ineptitude and corruption at every level of government, tired of the money that
leaves our treasury and appears to land in a bottomless sinkhole, tired of the crime and violence in New Orleans. Two years after the storm, there is so much trouble with all things Katrina, the topic has become an
abstract tangle of environmental, structural, economic, political and human issues we don’t know how to fix. The problem feels so foreign, so “other."
View the full article.
Browne, Katherine E. “Working as an Ethnographer/ Filmmaker Team” Anthropology News. Monthly publication of the American Anthropological Association. November 2006.
Abstract: This invited piece discusses the special challenges and opportunities of collaborating across disciplines to create an ethnographically-informed documentary film that became Still Waiting.
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Erikson, Kai and Lori Peek. 2008. “Hurricane Katrina Research Bibliography.” New York: Social Science Research Council.
http://katrinaresearchhub.ssrc.org/KatrinaBibliography.pdf/
view
Abstract: This bibliography includes reference information for reports, journal articles, book chapters, and books that explore the human effects of Hurricane Katrina. Citations are
organized according to the following subject areas: children and schools; displaced persons; economic effects and employment; elderly; emergency preparedness and response; environmental effects; evacuation; gender;
health and health care; housing; media; post-disaster recovery; race and class; and research methods. The bibliography also includes authored books that discuss Katrina in general, edited books that cover a range of
subjects related to the storm, special issues of scholarly journals, documentary films, and websites dedicated to Katrina.
Gill, Sara, Lindsey Gulsvig, and Lori Peek. 2008. “Children and Disasters Annotated Resource List.” Children, Youth, and Environments 18(1): 485-510.
http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/18_1/18_1_21
_ResourceList.pdf
Abstract: This annotated resource list includes information on agencies and organizations around the world that help children prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural and human-made disasters; descriptions of educational materials and other resources aimed at informing children and youth about disasters; references to books written for children and youth about disasters; references to reports and books onchildren’s experiences in disasters; and a summary of electronic mailing lists established to connect those concerned with child and youth disaster risk reduction, education, and protection.
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Underhill, Megan. 2008. “Katrina’s Displacement: The Untold Consequences of Disaster Resettlement in Colorado.” M.A. Thesis, Department of Anthropology, Colorado State University, Fort
Collins, CO.
Tobin-Gurley, Jennifer. 2008. “Hurricane Katrina: Displaced Single Mothers, Resource Acquisition, and Downward Mobility.” M.A. Thesis, Department of Sociology, Colorado State University,
Fort Collins, CO.
Richardson, Krista. In Progress. “Katrina’s Children: An Analysis of Educational Outcomes, Friendships, and Family Relationships.” Undergraduate Honors Thesis, Department of Sociology,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
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Browne, Katherine E. (conceived and organized with help from students in Dr. Browne’s spring 2007 class on New Orleans and Katrina.) February 2007. The all-day Symposium at Tamasag Retreat Center brought together six prominent scholars and health professionals (from CSU Colleges of Liberal Arts, Engineering and Veterinary Medicine, and from Colorado Division of Mental Health and Social Services) to give lectures and participate in discussions. One of the featured speakers was Lori Peek. Funding supplied by Office of Vice President for Research and included a Creole-style lunch. The event offered students, faculty, and community members the opportunity to consider the challenges of the many dimensions of this disaster. For more details, see the Katrina Symposium flyer.
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Conferences Presentations and Public Talks
Browne, Katherine E. 2008. Invited presentation and film screening of Still Waiting at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Special Katrina class with local community participation.
Browne, Katherine E. 2008. “Self Reliance and the American Betrayal.” Invited presentation and film screening of Still Waiting at University of Denver. Headline Anthropology Series
(special campus event with community).
Browne, Katherine E. 2007. “Self Reliance and the American Betrayal.” Invited presentation and film screening of Still Waiting. Social Justice Outreach, Calvary Presbyterian Church, San
Francisco, CA.
Browne, Katherine E. 2007. Invited presentation and film screening of Still Waiting. Lory Student Theatre on CSU campus.
Browne, Katherine E. 2007. Invited presentation and film screening of Still Waiting. Lyric Cinema Café, a documentary film house. Fort Collins, CO.
Browne, Katherine E. 2007. “Finding a Way Back: Early Insights from Documentary Film Work with a Katrina Family.” Society for Anthropology of North America (SANA) Annual Meeting. April
19-21. New Orleans, LA.
Browne, Katherine E. and Ginny Martin. 2007. Invited screening and discussion afterwards of Still Waiting, Dallas Theatre Center.
Browne, Katherine E. and Ginny Martin. 2007. Premier screening and discussion afterwards of Still Waiting, Zeitgeist Theatre (documentary film house), New Orleans, LA.
Browne, Katherine E. 2006. “Not Just Any Red Beans: The Exquisite Pain of Being Back Home.” American Anthropological Association (AAA) Annual Meeting. San Jose, CA.
Browne, Katherine E. 2006. “A Comparative Look at Life After Katrina: Implications of Collected and Fractured Families.” Katrina Research Symposium (invited conference for NSF grantees),
New Orleans, LA.
Browne, Katherine E. 2006. “I’ll Suffer to Stay: Katrina Evacuees and the Longing for Home.” Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) International Annual Meeting, Vancouver, Canada.
Special session devoted to Katrina research.
Browne, Katherine, Lori Peek, and Megan Underhill. 2006. “Life after Katrina: Struggles to Regain Control and Culture.” Women’s Studies Colloquium, Colorado State University, Fort
Collins, CO.
Browne, Katherine and Lori Peek. 2006. “Life after Katrina: Struggles to Regain Control and
Culture.” Colorado State University, College of Liberal Arts Great Conversations Series, Fort
Collins, CO.
Peek, Lori and Alice Fothergill. 2008. “Parenting in the Wake of Disaster: Mothers and Fathers
Respond to Hurricane Katrina.” Midwest Sociological Society Annual Meeting, St. Louis, MO.
Peek, Lori. 2007. “Children and Disaster: Understanding Vulnerabilities, Developing Capacities, and Promoting Resilience.” Australasian Natural Hazards Management Conference, Brisbane,
Australia.
http://www.hazards-education.org/ahmc/2007/1-Peek_ChildrenandDisasters.pdf
Peek, Lori. 2007. “Conquering Disaster: A Study of Parents and Youth Displaced by Hurricane
Katrina.” Midwest Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
Peek, Lori. 2007. “Children and Disasters: Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.” On-Line
Presentation for the Emergency Information Infrastructure Project (EIIP) Virtual Forum.
http://www.emforum.org/vforum/lc070725.htm
Peek, Lori. 2007. “Recovery and Restoration Along the Gulf Coast.” Eracism Film Series, Fort
Collins, CO.
Peek, Lori. 2007. “Social Science Research Council Working Group on Persons Displaced by
Hurricane Katrina.” Sociologists for Women in Society Winter Meeting, New Orleans, LA.
Peek, Lori. 2006. “The 2005 Hurricane Season: Understanding Children’s Issues in Katrina.”
Church World Service Forum on Domestic Disaster Ministry, Princeton, NJ.
Peek, Lori. 2006. “Struggling to Rebuild: A Study of Hurricane Katrina’s Displaced Families in
Colorado.” University of New Orleans, Sociology of Disasters Seminar, teleconference
presentation from Fort Collins, CO.
Peek, Lori and Alice Fothergill. 2006. “Reconstructing Childhood: An Exploratory Study of
Children in Hurricane Katrina.” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Montréal.
Underhill, Megan. 2007. “The Invisible Toll of Katrina: How Social and Economic Capital is Altering the Recovery Experience among Katrina Evacuees in Colorado.” Society for Economic
Anthropology Annual Meeting, Greensboro, NC.
Underhill, Megan. 2006. “Reconstructing Life after Disaster: Testimonies from Hurricane Katrina Evacuees Living in Denver, Colorado.” Society for Applied Anthropology International Annual Meeting, Vancouver, Canada.
Underhill, Megan. 2006. “Disaster, Displacement, and Social Capital.” Katrina Research Symposium (invited conference for NSF grantees), New Orleans, LA.
Underhill, Megan. 2006. “Resettlement after Disaster: How Katrina Evacuees in Colorado Negotiate a Changed Habitus.” 31st Annual Workshop on Hazards Research and Applications, Boulder, CO.
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Research and Documentary Film Funding
2007. National Science Foundation: “Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU).” Supplement Award funded by the Cultural Anthropology Program. Katherine Browne, Principal
Investigator. Lori Peek, Co-Principal Investigator. ($4,000)
2006-07. College of Liberal Arts, Colorado State University: “By the People, For the People: Connecting Hurricane Katrina Survivors Through Scholarship and Public Outreach.” Funded in
association with the Academic Enrichment Program. Katherine Browne, Lori Peek, and J. Ross Beveridge, Co-Principal Investigators. ($50,000)
2006. Women in Film: “Still Waiting: Life After Katrina.” Awarded for Film Finishing Funds. Ginny Martin and Katherine Browne, Principal Investigators. ($5,000)
2006. National Science Foundation: “Loss and Survival: Culture, Community, and Family Following Hurricane Katrina.” Supplement Award funded by the Cultural Anthropology Program. Katherine Browne, Principal Investigator. Lori Peek, Co-Principal Investigator. ($10,000)
2006. National Science Foundation: “Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU).” Supplement Award funded by the, Cultural Anthropology Program. Katherine Browne, Principal Investigator. Lori Peek, Co-Principal Investigator. ($4,500)
2006. Midwest Sociological Society Endowment Committee: “Conquering Disaster: Reconstructing Lives Following Hurricane Katrina.” Lori Peek, Principal Investigator.
($1,500)
2005-06. National Science Foundation: “Loss and Survival: Culture, Community, and Family Following Hurricane Katrina.” Awarded through Small Grants for Exploratory Research
Program. Katherine Browne, Principal Investigator. Lori Peek, Co-Principal Investigator.
($40,000)
2005. Natural Hazards Center and the National Science Foundation Quick
Response Research Grant Program: “Reconstructing Childhood: An Exploratory Study of Children in Hurricane Katrina.” Alice Fothergill and Lori Peek, Co-Principal Investigators.
($3,500)
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Katrina-Based Classroom Instruction
New Orleans and the Caribbean (ANTH 446), Professor Kate Browne
Course Description: The objective of this course is to introduce students to the magical city of New Orleans as it evolved, and today, as it is being tested in the most devastating chapter of its history. Students will learn about what made this great city so different from other urban areas of the US, beginning with its distinctive colonial history all the way up to Katrina. We will investigate the character and evolution of many domains of public culture, from street festivities and jazz to architecture, food, and tourism. We will also explore the less visible worlds of family, gender, sexuality and belief. We will devote considerable time to understanding the impacts of Katrina, both in terms of the built and natural environment, and in terms of family, community, and culture.
Sociology of Disaster (SOC 463), Professor Lori Peek
See the course syllabus.
Course Description: The objective of this course is to introduce students to the sociological examination of natural, technological, and human-initiated disasters. This course will explore how and why disasters are fundamentally social events, focusing on the unequal human consequences of disasters. In particular, we will study conflict models and theories of social vulnerability that emphasize social, economic, geographical, political, and cultural factors that put people differentially at risk before, during, and after disasters. We will also highlight how vulnerable social groups, such as racial and ethnic minorities, low-income populations, women, and the elderly, are affected by and cope with hazardous conditions and events.