Global Urban Humanities/Future Histories Lab

Location: Bauer Wurster Hall, Berkeley, CA

Date/Time: Friday, October 23, 2015, 8:30AM-6PM

This wide-ranging interdisciplinary symposium examined art, commerce, politics, violence, history, and urban space on both sides of the Pacific. Creative artists and scholars explored contemporary performance, film, art, and activism in Mexico City from the Revolution to today. Ruben Gallo of Princeton University gave a keynote presentation examining the place of ruins in Mexico City imaginaries. Discussions of modern and contemporary culture and politics with leading performers, filmmakers, and scholars followed, including Gaston Alzate, Minerva Cuevas, Michael Dear, Ivonne del Valle, Tatiana Flores, Daniel Hernandez, Edward J. McCaughan, Jesusa Rodríguez, Juan Carlos Rulfo, and Maite Zubiaurre.

As a counterpoint from the other side of the Pacific Rim, Margaret Crawford and Winnie Wong of UC Berkeley presented an exhibition on current art and urbanism in China’s dynamic Pearl River Delta, manufacturer to the world of both smartphones and mass-produced Van Goghs. Research on contemporary Shanghai by a team from the UCLA Urban Humanities Initiative was also presented by Dana Cuff and Jonathan Crisman in a video-based exhibit, and new UC Berkeley publications and websites on participatory urbanisms (focusing on São Paulo and New Delhi) and urban pilgrimage were unveiled.