California, the University, and the Environment

May 7–May 8, 2009
UC Davis


“California, the University and the Environment” is a free (pre-registration is required) two-day conference to be held Thursday and Friday, May 7-8, 2009 at the Buehler Alumni Center on the UC Davis campus.  Open to scholars, scientists, activists, and members of the general public, the event will highlight the connections between scholars in the humanities and sciences and the role of the UC in shaping how people understand nature and what they do with it – sometimes in controversial ways.

We anticipate a lively two-days of presentations and conversations after which participants will have a new understanding of the ways that the work of California scholars – whether scientists or humanists –have been central to the story of environmental change, from bioregionalism to conservation biology to air pollution controls to water policy, and will continue to play crucial roles in meeting our state’s many environmental challenges.

The conference also features 25 Stories, a photo exhibit from the communities and back roads of the Central Valley documenting women leaders struggling for environmental justice. The final event will be a performance of 25 Stories by Playback Theater, honoring activism and human experience in a way that is immediate, direct and universally human. View the 25 Stories Site

This event was organized by the Environmental Humanities Research Cluster and co-sponsored by UCHRI as part of the 20th Anniversary UC Presidential Humanities Initiative. Grantees of the award were the UC Davis Humanities Institute and UC Merced Faculty Partners. Event Website