Containerization Conference: Part of the 20th Anniversary of the UC Humanities Initiative

Richard Hebdige
Art
UC Santa Barbara

The Interdisciplinary Humanities Center (IHC) and the Center for Work, Labor and Democracy at UC Santa Barbara hosted the conference, “The Traveling Box: Containers as the Global Icon of Our Era,” at UC Santa Barbara on November 8-10, 2007. This conference was one of three major events hosted by the University of California to mark the 20th anniversary of the UC President’s Humanities Initiative. The conference focused on containers and containerization as a broad umbrella under which to consider (1) the social, economic, and cultural impact of the shipping container; (2) the impact of the container on urban geography, supply chains, environmental and security issues; and (3) the shipping container as material object/raw material to be appropriated, recycled, and adapted for multiple uses. Additional conference sponsors included: Harry Bridges Institute, UCLA; The Business, Society and Culture Program, Drew University; and J Staal Storage Solutions.