CRP will host symposium about New Orleans culture, issues

The Community Reading Project will help readers prepare for the March author lecture by offering a taste of New Orleans during a two-day symposium in January.

“The New Orleans Symposium” is set for January 15-16 at the Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons. Faculty and staff members and community members will lead sessions on New Orleans culture and food, and discussions about the city’s recovery after Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf oil spill.

Brian Jbara, director of Integrative Learning and Advising, said helping readers establish a sense of place is important. The CRP book selection is “Five Days at Memorial,” by Sheri Fink; it details the days at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“Knowing the history of the city, construction of levees, geography and more allows us to make connections to why things happened during Katrina,” Jbara said. “Understanding the people helps us understand the resiliency they displayed during the story and the rebuilding of New Orleans.”

The symposium will begin at 10 a.m. January 15 with a performance by Vince Browand and His Dixieland Quartet. Other sessions that day include a health care simulation led by Susan Strouse, assistant professor of nursing; “Service and Civic Engagement” by Quincy Williams, Janean Couch and Erik Scholten; and presentation about the Louisiana State Museum by Timothy Chester, museum consultant.

January 16 sessions include family disbursement trauma, service learning and Creole cuisine. To see details about the symposium, visit the CRP website at www.gvsu.edu/read.

Fink will give presentations on March 24 in Holland at the Herrick District Library and March 25 in the Kirkhof Center.