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Peter S. Alagona

Current Courses

Winter 2010 (tentative)

  • History 102AC
    Special Topics - History of Wildlife in America
  • History 201HS
    Advanced Historical Literature: History of Science, Technology and Medicine

Spring 2010 (tentative)


Department Fields

Announcements

New undergraduate course!
This winter I will offer a new undergraduate lecture course, Wildlife in America, cross-listed as History 102AC and ES 193WA. Check back for more information later in the fall quarter.

New graduate seminar!
This winter I will offer a new graduate seminar, Environmental History, listed as History 201HS. Check back for more information later in the fall quarter.

Environmental History, History of Science


Assistant Professor
PhD, University of California, Los Angeles, 2006
Email: alagona@history.ucsb.edu

Hello and welcome! You have reached the Web page for Peter Alagona, Assistant Professor of history and environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I am an environmental historian and historian of science with additional interests and training in ecology, geography, and science and technology studies. (more...)

Research and Teaching Interests

  • Research:
    My research focuses on the histories of land use, natural resource management, environmental politics, and ecological science in the North American West and beyond. I have particular interests in wildlife, endangered species, and biological diversity.
  • Teaching:
    Beginning in the winter of 2010, I will be teaching undergraduate courses cross-listed in history and environmental studies, as well as graduate seminars in history. You will find my course topics for the 2009-2010 academic year listed below.

Current Projects

  • Endangered Species
    My current major project is a book manuscript, under advance contract with the University of California Press, entitled After the Grizzly: Endangered Species, Critical Habitat, and the Politics of Place in California.
  • California Landscape History Project
    I am developing a collaborative, interdisciplinary, intercampus project that will use the UC Natural Reserve System as a site for research, teaching, outreach, and archival conservation in environmental history and the history of science.

Selected Publications

  • Alagona, Peter S. and Gregory L. Simon. "The Role of Field Study in Humanistic and Interdisciplinary Environmental Education." Journal of Experiential Education (in press).
  • Simon, Gregory L. and Peter S. Alagona. "Beyond Leave No Trace." Ethics, Place & Environment 12:1 (March 2009): 17-34.
  • Alagona, Peter S. “Credibility.” Conservation Biology 22:6 (December 2008): 1365-1367.
  • Alagona, Peter S. “Homes on the Range: Cooperative Conservation and Environmental Change on California’s Privately Owned Hardwood Rangelands.” Environmental History 13 (April 2008): 287-311.
  • Alagona, Peter S. and Stephanie Pincetl. “The Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan: A Decade of Delays.” Environmental Management 41:1 (January 2008): 1-11.
  • Alagona, Peter S. “What Makes a Disaster ‘Natural’?” Space and Culture 9:1 (February 2006): 77-79.
  • Alagona, Peter S. “The Ghosts of Endangered Species Past: Recent Lessons from the Intersection of History and Biology.” BioScience 54:11 (November 2004): 984-985.
  • Alagona, Peter S. “Biography of a ‘Feathered Pig’: The California Condor Conservation Controversy.” Journal of the History of Biology 37:3 (October 2004): 557-583.

Undergraduate and Graduate Courses

  • Wildlife in America: An undergraduate lecture course, cross-listed in history and environmental studies, scheduled for winter 2010.
  • Environmental History: A graduate reading seminar, listed as History 201HS, scheduled for winter 2010.
  • The Politics of Science: An undergraduate lecture course, cross-listed in history and environmental studies, scheduled for spring 2010.
  • Check back in the spring for 2010-2011 course offerings.

Academic Background

  • Assistant Professor—Department of History & Environmental Studies Program, University of California, Santa Barbara (beginning in July 2008, on leave 2008-2009)
  • Visiting Assistant Professor—Bill Lane Center for the American West & Department of History, Stanford University (2008-2009)
  • Harvard Environmental Fellow—Center for the Environment & John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (2006-2008)
  • Doctor of Philosophy—Department of History, History of Science Program, University of California, Los Angeles (2006)
  • Master of Arts—Department of History, History of Science Program, University of California, Los Angeles (2003)
  • Master of Arts—Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara (2000)
  • Bachelor of Arts—Department of History, Northwestern University (1995)

Links

  • UCSB Environmental Studies Program: http://www.es.ucsb.edu/
  • UC Natural Reserve System: http://nrs.ucop.edu/
  • Harvard University Center for the Environment: http://environment.harvard.edu/
  • Bill Lane Center for the American West: http://west.stanford.edu/
  • American Society for Environmental History: http://www.aseh.net/
  • Carolyn Merchant's Web site about the field of environmental history: http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/departments/espm/env-hist/
  • History of Science Society: http://www.hssonline.org/
  • Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences: http://aess.info/