Harriet Ritvo
Encyclopedia
Harriet Ritvo is an American historian
who specializes in British history, particularly environmental history
and the history of natural history
. Ritvo is the Arthur J. Connor Professor of History at MIT and a member of the Program in Science, Technology and Society, and she was the head of MIT's History Faculty from 1999-2006.
,
Massachusetts
and received her A.B.
and Ph.D.
from Harvard University
. She also studied at Girton College at Cambridge University.
at Clare Hall at Cambridge University, as well as at Balliol College at Oxford University.
culture.
Ritvo is the author of the following books:
Ritvo was the editor of:
Ritvo was a co-editor of:
in 1990 following her first book, The Animal Estate: The English and Other Creatures in the Victorian Age (1987).
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
who specializes in British history, particularly environmental history
Environmental history
Environmental history, a branch of historiography, is the study of human interaction with the natural world over time. In contrast to other historical disciplines, it emphasizes the active role nature plays in influencing human affairs. Environmental historians study how humans both shape their...
and the history of natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
. Ritvo is the Arthur J. Connor Professor of History at MIT and a member of the Program in Science, Technology and Society, and she was the head of MIT's History Faculty from 1999-2006.
Early life
Harriet Ritvo was born in 1946 in CambridgeCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and received her A.B.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. She also studied at Girton College at Cambridge University.
Career
She has been a Visiting FellowVisiting fellow
A visiting fellow is an academic, often a senior academic, who is undertaking research at a different institution than his or her main institution for a limited period of time, often but not necessarily at a foreign institution. A visiting fellow can be paid or unpaid; sometimes the salary is paid...
at Clare Hall at Cambridge University, as well as at Balliol College at Oxford University.
Publications
Ritvo has published books on the history of British scientific classification of animals and of the roles of animals in VictorianVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
culture.
Ritvo is the author of the following books:
- The Animal Estate: The English and Other Creatures in the Victorian Age (Harvard UP, 1987)
- The Platypus and the Mermaid, and Other Figments of the Classifying Imagination (Harvard UP, 1997)
- The Dawn of Green: Manchester, Thirlmere, and Modern Environmentalism (Chicago UP, 2009)
- Noble Cows and Hybrid Zebras: Essays on Animals and History (Virginia, 2010)
Ritvo was the editor of:
- Charles Darwin's The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998)
Ritvo was a co-editor of:
- Macropolitics of Nineteenth-Century Literature: Nationalism, Imperialism, Exoticism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991)
Periodicals
Ritvo has written articles and reviews on British cultural history and environmental history in such periodicals as The London Review of Books, Science, Daedalus, The American Scholar, Technology Review, and The New York Review of Books, as well as scholarly journals in several fields.Recognition
Ritvo received the Whiting Writers' AwardWhiting Writers' Award
The Whiting Writers' Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation and has been presented since 1985. As of 2007, winners receive US $50,000.-External links:**...
in 1990 following her first book, The Animal Estate: The English and Other Creatures in the Victorian Age (1987).