CONTACTS:
• Donna Sinclair, Center for Columbia River History, info@ccrh.org or 360-258-3289.
• Brenda Alling, Office of Marketing and Communications, 360-546-9601, news@vancouver.wsu.edu
VANCOUVER, Wash. - Explore the historical and cultural context of world dams at, "Reversing the Flow: Big Dams, Power and People in Global Perspective." This all-day conference will be held Saturday, Nov. 7 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the Washington State University Vancouver campus in the Administration building, room 110.
The conference will examine the history of 20th century dams in locations such as Ghana, India, China, Canada, Afghanistan and the Columbia River Basin. The conference and related events are free and open to the public. For a schedule of events and additional information please visit
Dr. William Lang of Portland State University, and former Director of the Center for Columbia River History, will give the annual James B. Castles Endowment Lecture as a keynote address, "Dam Sites: Big Dams and Local Politics on the Columbia and in the World." Additional presenters include: Shripad Dharmadhikary, founder of Manthan Adhyayan Kendra; Dr. Tina Loo, University of British Columbia; Dr. Stephan Miescher, University of California, Santa Barbara; Dr. Linda Nash, University of Washington and Dr. David Pietz, Washington State University.
The conference kicks off on Friday, Nov. 6 with a reception to welcome international speakers at Vancouver's Water Resources Education Center, 4600 SE Columbia Way. This program will place local history into global context by offering films, images and discussion of the historical Columbia River and rivers around the world. Films begin at 3:45 p.m. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m. RSVP by Thursday, Nov. 5, to Donna Sinclair, CCRH program manager, at info@ccrh.org or 360-258-3289.
"Reversing the Flow: Big Dams, Power and People in Global Perspective" is sponsored by the James B. Castles Endowment, with support from the 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø Center for Social and Environmental Justice, the 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø University Scholar's Program, the Pacific Northwest Canadian Studies Consortium and the City of Vancouver's Water Resources Education Center.
The conference is being held in conjunction with a series of free public lectures through the 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø University Scholars program and is co-sponsored by the Center for Social and Environmental Justice. A list of upcoming lectures and can be found at
91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø is celebrating 20 years of bringing quality education, research and service to the citizens of Southwest Washington. The campus is located at 14204 NE Salmon Creek Ave., east of the 134th Street exit from either I-5 or I-205, or via C-Tran bus service. 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø offers 16 bachelor's degrees, 10 master's degrees, one doctorate degree and more than 36 fields of study. Learn more at .
The Center for Columbia River History (CCRH) is a regional consortium that includes the Washington State Historical Society, Washington State University Vancouver, and Portland State University. Its mission is to promote study of the history of the Columbia River Basin. CCRH is dedicated to examining the hidden histories of the Basin and to helping people think about the historical record from different perspectives through creative public history products and direct engagement with Columbia River Basin communities.
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