CALL FOR PAPERS

Oildale and Beyond: Interpreting the Region Through Words, Images, and Music

Saturday, November 7, 2009

CSU Bakersfield

The History Department and the Walter Stiern Library at California State University, Bakersfield, announce a conference on the history of Oildale, California, and the larger region (Bakersfield, Kern County, the Southern San Joaquin Valley).

The year 2009 marks the centennial of this unincorporated area of metropolitan Bakersfield, a distinct working-class community that emerged rapidly after a major oil discovery in the area in 1899 and which has left a legacy in business, literature, and song.

Papers exploring any aspect of the history of Oildale and the larger region are welcome, but the conference plans to highlight in particular the following topics:

The oil industry

The Bakersfield Sound

The Dust Bowl

Race relations and the Klan

Water issues

Education/libraries/literature

Ethnic groups/diverse communities

Aerospace

Featured Musician: Merle Haggard

Oildale native, singer, songwriter, and inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame (solo, plus interview by Bob Price)

Keynote speaker: Gerald Haslam

Oildale native, writer and teacher, and author of over two dozen books, including Workin’ Man Blues (UC Press, 1999)

Conference events open only to those registered for the conference