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Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

I am a historian and director of the Office of Undergraduate Research at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. My research focuses on the history of western ideas about animals. I am the author of _Savages and Beasts: The Birth of the Modern Zoo_ (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002), a study of the origins of naturalistic displays in zoological gardens, and the editor of the collection _Representing Animals_ (Indiana University Press, 2002). I am the General Editor of the book series Animalibus: Of Animals and Cultures for Penn State University Press, which I co-founded with Garry Marvin in 2012. Volume 7 in that series, _Elephant House_, is the result of a three-year collaboration with the photographer Dick Blau.

Experience

  • 2008–present
    Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
  • 2018–present
    Associate professor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
  • 2000–2008
    Director of the Edison Initiative, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
  • 1994–2000
    Editor, Center for Twentieth Century Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Education

  • 1994 
    Harvard University, PhD
  • 1987 
    Harvard University, MA
  • 1985 
    University of Utah, BA

Publications

  • 2015
    Elephant House (with Dick Blau), Penn State UP
  • 2002
    Representing Animals, Editor, Indiana UP
  • 2002
    Savages and Beasts: The Birth of the Modern Zoo, Johns Hopkins UP

Grants and Contracts

  • 2010
    Visiting Research Fellow
    Role:
    PI
    Funding Source:
    University of Oslo
  • 2004
    National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow
    Role:
    PI
    Funding Source:
    National Endowment for the Humanities
  • 2001
    Humanities Research Centre Fellow
    Role:
    PI
    Funding Source:
    Australian National University
  • 1996
    Shelby Cullom Davis Center Fellow
    Role:
    PI
    Funding Source:
    Princeton University

Professional Memberships

  • Society for Literature Science and the Arts