FALL 2008 - UW-Milwaukee

A Braided Conversation:UWinteriM Courses in New Orleans After the HurricanesBy Lee AbbottLast year Cheryl Ajirotutu, codirectorof UWM Cultures andCommunities Program andassociate professor of Anthropology,spoke with Myriad (“Storied Recovery,”Fall 2007) about two UWM Winterimcourses exploring the devasta tion in andrebuilding of the Lower Ninth Ward ofNew Orleans, LA. This past January,Ajirotutu’s students in Anthropology150 and 540 experienced and engagedin the culture, history, and politicalstruggles of Lower Ninth Wardresi dents as they conducted researchinto the on-going effects of HurricanesKatrina and Rita. Following on theheels of UWinteriM 2008, students andfaculty involved in the New Orleanscourses have concen trated onexpanding the program to include moredepartments and faculty, and organizingcommunity events reminding UWM andMilwaukee that the work of recoveryin New Orleans (and in our ownneigh borhoods) is hardly over.Ten students made the trip south.Their majors included not only anthropology,but also social welfare andeducation. Along with their collaborativework with local organization NENA,the Neighbor hood EmpowermentNetwork Associa tion, students conductedresearch on the environment,children and family welfare, musicaland cultural traditions, and housing.Because of the connections builtbetween Cultures and Communities(CC) and local scholars, the UWinteriMstudents got a firsthand experience ofthe cultural traditions and activities ofNew Orleans Mardi Gras. Ajirotuturecalls how Ronald Lewis, the communityscholar who worked with thestudents, was named King of the MardiGras carnival. “Suddenly, studentswere able to work in his museum —the House of Dance and Feathers — andproduce Mardi Gras costumes. Theylearned the dances and decoratedumbrellas. They really had an insightinto the Mardi Gras experience theywould never have gained otherwise.”Initially partnered with NENA ina community mapping project, theCultures and Communities Programwas able to attract new partners for thefuture expansion of the UWinteriMcourses. These partners include theMusicians’ Village, the Lower NinthWard Clinic, and the New OrleansJazz National Historical Park (NHP).According to Ajirotutu, the NHPhas expressed interest in utilizingUWinteriM students’ interviews in itsoral history collection.Along with attracting more localpartners, CC is looking to expandUWM departmental participation inthe program. “Buy-ins” are beingexplored between CC and Music, theSchool of Social Welfare, Communication,and Journalism. This wouldcreate more classes in different subjects— all going down to New Orleansduring UWinteriM. “The plan is thatthey would shadow the program, i.e.,three or four faculty members doingspecific classes that are related to theirdepart ments,” Ajirotutu explains.Expansion of the New OrleansUWinteriM courses has extended toUW-Waukesha this past September, inan effort to coordinate post-Katrinaresearch courses with UWM.10 Fall 2008/MyriadLeft: Katrina Memorial in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward.Above (clockwise): Students Larry Adams, Erica Lehr, and Kelsey Kaufmanworked on fieldnotes.