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Peter S. Alagona

Current Courses

Winter 2013 (current)


Spring 2013 (tentative)


Department Fields

Announcements

20 November 2012
Prof. Alagona gave a guest lecture on climate politics in Prof. O'Connor's History 5 course.

6 November 2012
Prof. Alagona gave a guest lecture on endangered species and the politics of science in Prof. Susan Stonich's 130A course.

22 October 2012
Prof. Alagona gave a talk on his forthcoming book in the Environmental Studies colloquium at UC Santa Cruz.

18 June 2012
The Mellon Foundation announced today that it will fund UCSB’s first “Sawyer Seminar,” in 2013-14, based on a proposal coauthored by Prof. Alagona, along with Teresa Shewry and David Lopez-Carr, on the topic of marine environmental history.

4 June 2012
Prof. Alagona received the Harold J. Plous Award for the outstanding junior faculty member in the College of Arts & Science at UCSB in the areas of teaching, research, and service. It is the highest honor the College can bestow on an assistant professor.

30 March 2012
Prof. Alagona visited Madison, Wisconsin, for the American Society for Environmental History annual meeting, and participated in a panel on "Animals as Place-Makers."

23 February 2012
The Santa Barbara Environmental History Workshop will meet at Prof. Alagona's house at 6:00 PM.

15 February 2012
Prof. Alagona participated in a community roundtable discussion at the Montecito Public Library about this year's UCSB Reads book, Moby-Duck, by Donovan Hohn.

25 January 2012
Prof. Alagona participated in a panel discussion following the screening of a new documentary film entitled "Sushi: The Global Catch." Other panelists included the film's director, Mark Hall. For more on the movie, click on the underlined date above.

24 January 2012
Prof. Alagona gave a guest lecture on data management in historical research, entitled "From Notes to Narratives," in Prof. Toshi Hasegawa's History 233A course. To access the handout associated with this talk, click on the underlined date above.

19 January 2012
The Santa Barbara Environmental History Workshop winter kick-off event took place at Prof. Alagona's house.

7 December 2011
The Santa Barbara Environmental History Workshop met at Prof. Alagona's house.

8 November 2011
Prof. Alagona gave a guest lecture in History 5, The History of the Present, on "Global Climate Change and the Politics of Science."

4 November 2011
Prof. Alagona hosted Lawrence Culver, of Utah State University, who lectured in the History Department on "The Frontier of Leisure: Southern California and the Making of Modern America," as part of the Santa Barbara Environmental History Workshop.

12 October 2011
Prof. Alagona addressed the annual UC Natural Reserve System managers' meeting, at Sedgwick Ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley.

5 October 2011
The Santa Barbara Environmental History Workshop fall kick-off event took place at Prof. Alagona's house.

17 September 2011
Prof. Alagona hosted a group of new and continuing graduate students for an overnight camping trip to Figueroa Mountain, in the Los Padres National Forest, to mark the beginning of the academic year.









Current Graduate Students

Environmental History, History of Science


Assistant Professor
PhD, University of California, Los Angeles, 2006

Office: HSSB 4231
Hours:
Download CV

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 geography and science and technology studies. (more...)

Research and Teaching Interests

  • Research
    My research explores the histories of land use, natural resource management, environmental politics, and ecological science in California and the North American West. Most of my work has focused on wildlife and endangered species.
  • Teaching
    I teach undergraduate courses cross-listed in history and environmental studies, as well as graduate seminars in history. You will find my course topics and descriptions listed below.

Current Projects

  • Endangered Species
    My first single-authored book, After the Grizzly: Endangered Species and the Politics of Place in California, will be published by the University of California Press in March, 2013.
  • Biological Field Stations
    This project, supported by a National Science Foundation CAREER grant, uses the University of California’s Natural Reserve System as a case study for exploring the role of biological field stations in American environmental history since World War II.
  • Steelhead
    I am preparing a journal article that uses the story of steelhead trout to understand the modern political history of taxonomy and systematics, including the role of biological and administrative species concepts in science, law, and management.
  • Shifting Baselines
    As part of a larger initiative at UCSB in marine environmental history, I am developing an essay that considers the shifting baseline concept in the context of historical narrative theory.
  • The Trend Line
    I am in the early stage of developing a new book project on the idea of environmental change as seen from the perspectives of environmental history and the history and philosophy of science.
  • Concrete Jungle
    I am in the early stage of exploratory research on a new book project about the history of wildlife in America cities.

Selected Publications

  • Simon, Gregory L., and Peter S. Alagona. "Contradictions at the Confluence of Commerce, Consumption and Conservation; or, An REI Shopper Camps in the Forest, Does Anyone Notice?" Geoforum (accepted fall 2012, in press).
  • Alagona, Peter S., and Clint F. Smith. "Mirage in the Making." Boom: A Journal of California 2:3 (Fall 2012), pp. 25-44.
    Article PDF
  • Alagona, Peter S. “A Sanctuary for Science: The Hastings Natural History Reservation and the Origins of the University of California’s Natural Reserve System.” Journal of the History of Biology 45:4 (November 2012), pp. 651-680.
    Article PDF
  • Alagona, Peter S., John Sandlos, and Yolanda Wiersma. “Past Imperfect: Using Historical Ecology and Baseline Data for Contemporary Conservation and Restoration Projects.” Environmental Philosophy 9:1 (Spring 2012), pp. 49-70.
    Article PDF
  • Alagona, Peter S. “Introduction” and “What is Habitat?” In Peter S. Alagona, ed., “Fifty Years of Wildlife in America Forum.” Environmental History 16:3 (July 2011), pp. 391-397, 433-438.
    Article PDF
  • Alagona, Peter S. “Biting the Hand: New Dilemmas in the History of Predator Control.” Journal of the West 50:1 (Winter 2011), pp. 74-82.
    Article PDF
  • Simon, Gregory L., and Peter S. Alagona. "Beyond Leave No Trace." Ethics, Place & Environment 12:1 (March 2009), pp. 17-34.
    Article PDF
  • Alagona, Peter S. “Credibility.” Conservation Biology 22:6 (December 2008), pp. 1365-1367.
    Article PDF
  • Alagona, Peter S. “Homes on the Range: Cooperative Conservation and Environmental Change on California’s Privately Owned Hardwood Rangelands.” Environmental History 13 (April 2008), pp. 287-311.
    Article PDF
  • Alagona, Peter S. and Stephanie Pincetl. “The Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan: A Decade of Delays.” Environmental Management 41:1 (January 2008), pp. 1-11.
    Article PDF
  • Alagona, Peter S. “The Ghosts of Endangered Species Past: Recent Lessons from the Intersection of History and Biology.” BioScience 54:11 (November 2004), pp. 984-985.
    Article PDF
  • Alagona, Peter S. “Biography of a ‘Feathered Pig’: The California Condor Conservation Controversy.” Journal of the History of Biology 37:3 (October 2004), pp. 557-583.
    Article PDF

Undergraduate and Graduate Courses

  • Introduction to Environmental Studies (ES 1)
    ES 1 explores some of the “big questions” in the interdisciplinary field of environmental studies, and seeks to foster a holistic, integrative way of thinking about complex environmental problems and solutions.
  • Wildlife in America (108W)
    This undergraduate course explores the colorful history of human interactions with wild animals in North America, from the Pleistocene to the present. Topics include changes in science, law, culture, politics, and resource management.
  • The History of the Oceans (108O)
    This undergraduate course provides an introduction to the emerging field of marine environmental history. How have people have experienced, understood, interacted with, and transformed the world’s oceans over the course of human history?
  • Environmental History Research & Writing
    This undergraduate (pro)seminar is designed to help students develop research and writing skills. Participants take field trips, conduct research, analyze sources, and write article length final papers.
  • Research Seminar in Environmental History (208A, B)
    This graduate research seminar provides a broad survey of the field of environmental history, including historiography and methods, and offers students the opportunity to continue their studies by writing a full-length research paper.
  • The Politics of Science (201HS)
    This graduate reading seminar explores political debates about the role of science in society, with a focus on the areas of environment and public health.
  • Environmental History Workshop (295)
    This two-credit seminar focuses on scholarship and professionalization. It is offered each quarter during the regular academic year for UCSB graduate students working on research topics related to environmental history or the history of science.

Honors and Professional Activities

  • Harold J. Plous Memorial Award—UCSB College of Letters & Science (2012-13)
  • CAREER Grant—National Science Foundation; Science, Technology, and Society Program (2011)
  • Research Opportunity Fund Grant—UC Office of the President (2011)
  • Regents Junior Faculty Fellowship—UCSB College of Letters & Sciences (2011)
  • Research Grant—NOAA Fisheries, Scott Cooper, Co-PI (2010)
  • Archival Seed Grant—University of California Office of the President & The Packard Foundation (2010)
  • Collaborative Research Initiative Grant—UCSB Institute for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research, Lead PI, 4 Co-PIs from various UCSB departments (2009)
  • Individual Research Grant—UCSB Interdisciplinary Humanities Center (2009)
  • Collaborative Grant—National Science Foundation; Science, Technology, and Society Program, 5 Co-PIs from the UCSB Center for Nanotechnology and Society & Santa Barbara City College (2009)

Academic Background

  • Assistant Professor—Department of History & Environmental Studies Program, University of California, Santa Barbara (2008-present)
  • Visiting Assistant Professor & Lane Postdoctoral Fellow—Bill Lane Center for the American West & Department of History, Stanford University (2008-2009)
  • Beagle 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/
  • UCSB Cheadle Center for Biodiversity & Ecological Restoration: http://ccber.lifesci.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/
  • History of Science Society: http://www.hssonline.org/
  • Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences: http://aess.info/
  • Carolyn Merchant's Web site about the field of environmental history: http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/departments/espm/env-hist/

Graduate Committees

  • Chair:
    Sienna Cordoba, Tammy Elwell (co-chair in geography), Andrew Esch, Tim Paulson (co-chair), Brian Tyrrell
  • Member:
    Peggy Beedle, Grayson Mass (anthropology), Roger Eardley-Prior, Jackson Warkentin