. >> we are joined by cynthia kierner, who is a professor of history at george mason university. she is the author of several .ooks most recently, the topic of today's talk, inventing disaster: the culture of calamity from the jamestown colony to the johnstown flood. copies will be available for sale. i am thrilled to be with you to hear her talk. i hope you will join me in a very warm welcome. [applause] prof. kierner: in 2012, superstorm sandy destroyed many places i love. i found toys about the storm very riveting. especially the human interest stories about its victims, survivors, different efforts to provide disaster relief. which the whole system became politicized. i also found it interesting what this told us about the larger worlds of new york and new jersey. i notice that the news followed a pattern that was familiar to me from katrina and other disasters. first claim the quantitative information about what happens. how may people died. how much property was destroyed. and the value of that property. interestme the human stories, mostly uplifting stories about relief an

. >> we are joined by cynthia kierner, who is a professor of history at george mason university. specialist in the fields of early american women, gender and early southern history. she is the author of several ands including scandal bizarre rumor in jefferson's america. randolph, daughter of monticello. changing history, virginia women for centuries and most recently in the topic of today's talk, "inventing disaster the culture : of calamity from the jamestown colony to the johnstown flood. " copies will be for sale. thrilled to be with you to hear her talk. i hope you will join me in a very warm welcome for cindy kerner. [applause] prof. kierner: in 2012, superstorm sandy destroyed many places i cared about. it was not in the ocean on a road on it. stories about this storm really riveting. especially the human interest stories about its victims, survivors, efforts to provide post disaster relief in the way in which the whole says -- situation became politicized. it happened so soon before presidential election. i also found it interesting what all the stories told us about the

. >> we are joined by cynthia kierner, who is a professor of history at george mason university. specialist in the fields of early american women, gender and early southern history. she is the author of several ands including scandal bizarre rumor in jefferson's america. randolph, daughter of monticello. changing history, virginia women for centuries and most recently in the topic of today's talk

. >> we are joined by cynthia kierner, who is a professor of history at george mason university. she is the author of several .ooks most recently, the topic of today's talk, inventing