Bio

Originally educated as a biologist, I worked as a field ecologist in industry before my doctoral work. I received my Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University in 1983, with a dissertation on the history of debates amongst evolutionists over Darwinian explanations of animals’ mimetic coloration. I was a National Science Foundation NATO Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Leeds, investigating the history of genetics and ecology in twentieth century Britain. I came to NC State in 1986.

Teaching and Research Interests

My research interest is the history of evolutionary ideas, with an emphasis on the disciplines of natural history, ecology, genetics, and behavior. My work places the development of ideas and scientific practices within two types of context in particular. One is the formation of scientific disciplines and the disputes about authority and relevant evidences and methods. The other is the ways that controversies and consensus form as a scientific field becomes convinced of new ideas and research directions.

I teach courses on the history of biology (HI 481: History of the Life Sciences) and on the history of Darwinism (HI 482/582: Darwinism in Science & Society), and the history of science survey course (HI 322: Rise of Modern Science). I have also taught in the graduate MALS program, and served on its advisory committee. Recently, I have been offering a series of courses on the histories of Darwinism, genetics, and animal behavior for NC State’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI).

I am the Director of the Thomas Jefferson Scholars, a program for students earning a degree in both the College of Humanities & Social Sciences and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. I serve as faculty mentor for the Jefferson Scholars, and teach an Honors seminar course on the history of biology for them. I received the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences Award for “Outstanding Leadership and Mentorship” in 2019.

In 2016, I was named Outstanding Advisor for the College of Humanities & Social Sciences, and nominated for the University Faculty Advising Award.

In May 2006, I was named Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor.

In May 2001, I was named Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the College of Humanities & Social Sciences, and inducted into the NC State Academy of Outstanding Teachers.

Projects

I’m currently working on two projects. One is about how visual representations of the tropics, in travel narratives and scientific works, contributed to ideas and understanding of tropical ecology. My larger project is an analysis of the reputation and representations of Charles Darwin as an icon of the idea and cultural impact of evolution, as a way to view the interaction of the science of evolution and its reception and resonance in culture.

Area(s) of Expertise

- History of Biology
- Science Technology and Society (STS)

Publications

• Balancing the Synthesis , Journal of the History of Biology (2023)
• Correction: Joel Hagen. Life out of Balance: Homeostasis and Adaptation in a Darwinian World, Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2021, ISBN 9780817320898, 360 pp , Journal of the History of Biology (2023)
• The infanticide controversy: Primatology and the art of field science. , Annals of Science (2012)
• Case Studies, Controversy and the ‘Fieldworker's Regress’ , Annals of Science (2010)
• Darwin’s Armada: Four Voyages and the Battle for the Theory of Evolution (review) , Journal of world history (2010)
• CARL VON LINNÉ, Nemesis Divina. Edited and translated with explanatory notes by M. J. Petry. Archives internationales d'histoire des idées, 177. Dordrecht, Boston and London: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001. Pp. xviii+483. ISBN 0-7923-6820-7. £119.00, $169.00 (hardback). , The British Journal for the History of Science (2005)
• John A.  Moore. From Genesis to Genetics: The Case of Evolution and Creationism. xvi + 231 pp., illus., refs., bibl., index. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002. $27.50 (cloth). , Isis (2004)
• What Evolution Is (review) , Configurations (2003)
• Reading Morgan's Canon: Reduction and Unification in the Forging of a Science of the Mind1 , American Zoologist (2000)
• Review of science, race, and religion in the American South , North Carolina Historical Review (2000)

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