Dean of the College, American and Indigenous Studies Program, and Historical Studies Program Present
"Exporting Service: Houston and the Globalization of Oil Expertise"
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Reem-Kayden Center Room 102
5:00 pm EST/GMT-5
5:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Betsy Beasley
PhD Candidate, American Studies, Yale University
PhD Candidate, American Studies, Yale University
How can we explain the fact that Houston-based oilfield services companies, like Halliburton and Schlumberger, operate on every oilfield in every oil-producing country around the world except China—even in countries that are explicitly antagonistic to U.S. capital? This talk argues that answering that question requires not just economic or geopolitical analysis but the methodological tools of transnational cultural history. After World War II, Houston-based oilfield services companies established themselves culturally, politically, and economically as the providers of logistical, engineering, and technical support to oilfields worldwide. This business strategy helped to transform Houston, both materially and culturally, from a blue-collar to a white-collar city, with a profound impact on conceptions of race, gender, and work. At the same time, oilfield services companies promoted an ideal of U.S. global power with the white-collar expert at its center, a new imperial vision that sought to make U.S. capital safe in a postcolonial world while also offering a triumphalist explanation for the nation's transition from an industrial to a post-industrial economy. Tying together evidence from popular culture, print media, corporate annual reports, and the papers of labor unions and company managers, this talk examines how the oilfield services industry reshaped the space of Houston as well as labor politics in oilfields across the globe.
For more information, call 845-758-6874, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 5:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Location: Reem-Kayden Center Room 102