ICW Presents “A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth”: A Discussion with James Tejani

Name: ICW Presents “A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth”: A Discussion with James Tejani | The Huntington
Start: Fri, Apr 4 2025
Location: The Huntington

Event

Join ICW for a webinar with James Tejani, who will discuss his book about the history of the Los Angeles Port, charting its rise out of the mud and salt marsh of San Pedro and showing how the port is the story of modern, globalized America itself.

Lectures

Interweaving the natural history of San Pedro into this all-too-human history, Tejani will share how a wild coast was made into the engine of American power during a discussion with Elizabeth Logan.

About the Speaker

James Tejani is an associate professor at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. After growing up in Long Beach, he studied at the University of California, San Diego, and Columbia University. His writings have appeared in Western Historical Quarterly, Southern California Quarterly, Dispatches Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times. His debut book, A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth, was published by W. W. Norton in July 2024.

A book cover shows a partial image of a boat dredging a marsh (top) and a strip of land with trains and cargo boxes (below). — Book cover of James Tejani’s *A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth*.

About the Organization

The Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West (ICW) is a center for scholarly investigation of the history and culture of California and the American West. Through sponsorship of innovative scholarship, research, and programming, ICW draws on the resources of USC and the Huntington Library to build a unique collaboration among a research university, a research library, and the public.