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August 25, 2015鈥擭early ten years ago, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the United States and unleashed a path of severe destruction across the region. Katrina also brought an onslaught of media attention, perhaps most notably in New Orleans, Louisiana, where flood walls and levees disastrously failed after the hurricane’s landfall.

With the storm鈥檚 anniversary approaching, we sat down with Dr. Bernie Cook, Georgetown鈥檚 director of , to learn about his new book,  (University of Texas). The book 鈥渋nvestigates how media representations both shaped and contested collective memories of Katrina,鈥� and how 鈥渢he twenty-four-hour news cycle created a surplus of representation that overwhelmed viewers and complicated understandings of the storm, the flood, and the aftermath.鈥�

A native of New Orleans,  calls the project his 鈥渕ost personal work of scholarship鈥� to date.

Bernie Cook is also an associate dean in Georgetown 海角论坛. Video by Kuna Malik Hamad.

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To mark Katrina鈥檚 ten-year anniversary, Bernie Cook, Professor Soyica Colbert (Performing Arts), Professor聽Adam Rothman (History), Professor聽Randall Amster (Justice and Peace Studies), and Professor聽Jo Ann Moran Cruz (History)聽have organized Georgetown鈥檚 Katrina@10 Symposium, which will take place on October 22 and 23.

Dedicated to assessing the impact of media and cultural performance on the public memory of Hurricane Katrina, the symposium will offer film screenings, musical performances, and panel discussions. Events include a concert with New Orleans native Donald Harrison, Jr., and panels featuring Leo Chiang, Luisa Dantas, Lolis Elie, Jordan Flaherty, Tamara Jackson, Tia Lessin, Dawn Logsdon, Cherice Harrison-Nelson, Lynnell Thomas, Kim Vaz, and Tracie Washington.

For the full schedule and more, visit: www.katrina-10.com.