As classes begin and the Fall 2023 semester gets underway, there is much to be excited about. I have been eager for this semester to begin, in anticipation of the build phase of the Singleton pavilion project, the completion of the Ardmore bridge project, and much more.
One of the courses I am taking this fall that I have especially been looking forward to is called “Inevitable Inundation”. It is a cross-listed course between architecture and historic preservation and will bring an interdisciplinary look at Charleston’s built environment, flooding, policy, mitigation interventions, and more. As an introduction to these topics, we were assigned the following reading “Rising Tides: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America”. I am a big history buff so I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and learning the background context, policies and decisions, mistakes and missteps which led up to this ecological and humanitarian disaster.
I especially enjoyed some of the early chapters which involved more of a background knowledge about some of the early to mid 19th century Mississippi River engineering debates. Early theories and reports on how to tame the river were bitterly argued and defended. These reports ultimately led to policy with reverberations that we still deal with today. It was a time where it seemed possible that nature could be conquered through great feats of engineering.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Mississippi_Flood_of_1927
Despite these amazing accomplishments, nature has a way of showing us that we are never fully in control. This reading was a perfect lead up to our convocation lecture yesterday which was about Charleston and current climate data relating to Sea Level Rise. We discussed mitigation efforts to prevent against catastrophic flooding and the necessity “to live with the water” moving forward.
The first map below shows the location of the “South Pass” entrance/outlet of the Mississippi River where 19th century engineer James Eads, constructed his design for jetties at his own risk. This ultimately was a success and led to a safe passageway for ships and a massive increase in goods transported via the river. I read some of this book this while sitting on the beach at Sullivans island, looking out at a similar strategy employed to facilitate travel into/out of the Charleston Harbor (second map below). Which according to the Army Corps of Engineers Webpage, the Charleston jetties began construction in 1882 and were completed by 1895.
https://www.riggingdoctor.com/life-aboard/2018/2/21/approaching-charleston-sc
In other news, I have been baking “croissants”! I will absolutely NOT be uploading any images of the end result of these croissants as I am a very novice baker. I am in the “laminating wood” section of the ITC (Intro to Craft) course this semester and this first assignment involves making food with a process that is comparable to the process of laminating wood. So….. here I am rolling some dough.
Thanks for reading 😀