Professor Mason White and Lola Sheppard have been invited to present at the Oil + Water conference at the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center at UC Santa Barbara. Their paper “Farming the Salton Sea” was selected by peer review and awarded a travel stipend.

This conference will explore the ways in which oil and water have created and transformed the history and culture of Santa Barbara and Southern California. Topics will include the Santa Barbara oil spill; the impact of oil on Hollywood; agriculture and marine life; the Owens River Valley; the Salton Sea; cars and car culture; and environmental histories and their lessons. For a list of participants see:

http://www.ihc.ucsb.edu/oil-water-conference-participants/

April 8 – 10, 2010
McCune Conference Room, 6020 HSSB, Santa Barbara, CA.
http://www.ihc.ucsb.edu/oil-water-socal/
This event is FREE and open to the public. Sponsored by the IHC’s Oil + Water series, the UC California Studies Consortium, and the Community Environmental Council.