HHS 123:European Society and Cultural History to 1500
This course and HHS 124, 223, 224 investigate the social, economic, intellectual, political and cultural trends in Europe from the Middle Ages to the present in lectures and discussion.
A historical survey of science and technology. Principal topics include science and technology in prehistory, Egyptian and Babylonian science and culture, Greek science, Medieval technology and science, the Scientific Revolution, the making of the modern physical science, Darwin, and the Darwinian Revolution.
This is an intensive writing and research seminar designed to introduce students to the world of historical research and the historian's craft. History majors are required to take this course during the spring semester of their junior year.
CAL 105:CAL Colloquium: Knowledge, Nature, Culture
This course introduces students to all the humanistic disciplines offered by the College of Arts and Letters: history, literature, philosophy, the social sciences, art, and music. By studying seminal works and engaging in discussions and debates regarding the themes and ideas presented in them, students learn how to examine evidence in formulating ideas, how to subject opinions, both their own, as well those of others, to rational evaluation, and in the end, how to appreciate and respect a wide diversity of opinions and points of view.
School: College of Arts & Letters
Department: History / CAL 105
Program: History
Research & Education
Education
Ph.D. Drew University 2007, with Distinction. Dissertation: "Conversations and Contrasting Views: An examination of the Development of Paleobotany in Nineteenth Century Europe, 1804-1895"
M.Phil. Drew University 2005, History of Science and Modern European History
B.A. Drew University 1999, Summa cum laude, with Specialized Honors in Anthropology. Senior Honors Thesis: "Representing Indigenous Identity: An Archaeological Interpretation at the Site of T'isil, Quintana Roo, Mexico"
Research
Examination of the history of water management and sustainability in Latin America. Students participate in a hands-one research project in Coastal Lowland Ecuador investigating the social, political, and economic forces surrounding water management and the role of the engineer and the historian/social scientist in the support of sustainable water management practices.
Examination of the history of paleobotany; the impacts of evolutionary theory and microscopy on paleobotany; paleobotany and its relevance for twenty-first century science.
Experience & Service
Institutional Service
Series Editor, History and Philosophy of Biology book series
Director, Gender and Cultural Studies Program, Stevens Institute of Technology
CAL Task Force, Stevens Institute of Technology
CAL Curriculum Task Force (CAL 103/105)
APO Faculty Advisor Faculty Advisor, History Majors, Stevens Institute of Technology
Faculty Advisor, Theta Phi Alpha Sorority
Faculty Advisor, Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity
Faculty Advisor, Multidisciplinary Pilot Senior Design Team, "Design of a Hybrid Photovoltaic-Thermal (PV/T) Solar Energy System for a Water Distribution System in Ecuador (2012-2013)
Faculty Sponsor, Senior Design Team, "Water Resources Management in Coastal Lowland Ecuador". (2011-2012) Team won 4th place in Stevens Project Pitch Competition and Research and Entrepreneurship Award (May 2012)
Professional Service
Graduate Students Supervised:
Ashley Stone, Master of Letters, Drew University. "Lessons from Pierre Bourdieu: Social Closure, Cultural Capital, and the Great Divide in American Higher Education." October 2008.
Anne Siemer, Doctor of Letters, Drew University. "Henry Laurens and Robert Carter: The Failure of Abolition in the Federal Era." May 2010.
Stacy Gallin, Doctor of Medical Humanities Candidate, Drew University.
Victor Algarin, Doctor of Medical Humanities Candidate, Drew University.
Katie Grogan, Doctor of Medical Humanities Candidate, Drew University.
Professional Activities:
"Water Resources Management in Coastal Ecuador: An Historical Assessment of Environmental Sustainability and Power, 1950-2000" Paper to be presented as part of a panel, "Between the Park and Shantytown: Latin American Cities and the Environment during the Twentieth Century" American Society for Environmental History, 3-6 April, 2013.
"Under the Microscope: Mary Ward, Matilda Knowles, and Sydney Mary Thompson Christen. Three Irish Ladies of the Laborator" Paper to be presented as part of a session, "Experts, Collectors, and Credit" at the Joint Meeting of the HSS/PSA, 15-18 November, 2012, San Diego, CA.
"More than 'Waifs and Strays of a by-gone Flora: The History of Paleobotany and its Relevance for Twenty-First Century Science" Paper presented at the Introductory Symposium, Philadelphia Area Center for the History of Science, 28 September, 2012.
"My Personal Journey to Stevens." Presentation at Pieces of Stevens Event, sponsored by the Samuel C. Williams Library, 27 September 2012.
"Without Water there is no Life: Educational Component." Session Organized and paper presented at the Rio+20 Conference, Sponsored by the United Nations, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 13-23 June, 2012.
"Senora Santa's Challenge: Rural Women and Sustainability in Coastal Lowland Ecuador." Presentation at the 56th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-56), United Nations Headquarters, 5 March 2012.
"Where are the Plants? Simpson's Tempo and Mode, Evolutionary Studies, and Paleobotany" Paper presented as part of my session "Opportunites and Challenges: Plants and Evolution, 1920-1950" History of Science Society Annual Meeting, 4-7 November, 2010, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
"Digitial Media and the History of Science" Workshop held at the History of Science Society Annual Meeting, 19-22 November 2009, Phoenix, Arizona.
"The Long and Winding Road: Paleobotany and the Modern Evolutionary Synthesis" Paper accepted to the British Society for the History of Science Conference, July 2009, Leicester, UK.
Book Reviews:
Expanding American Anthropology, 1945-1980: a generation reflects. ed. by Alice Beck Kehoe and Paul L. Doughty wtih Nancy K. Peske. Alabama, 2012. Choice Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, August 2012.
The Archaeology of Colonialism: intimate encounters and sexual effects. ed. by Barbara L. Voss and Eleanor Conlin Casella. Cambridge, 2012. Choice Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, June 2012.
Quereshi, Sadiah. Peoples on Parade: exhibitions, empire, and anthropology in nineteenth century Britain. Chicago 2011. Choice Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, May 2012.
Mesoudi, Alex. Cultural Evolution: how Darwinian theory can explain human culture and synthesize the social sciences. Chicago 2011. Choice Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, April 2012.
Liebsohn, Harry. The Return of the Gift: European history of a Global Idea. Cambridge 2010. Choice Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, Sept. 2011.
Constance Areson Clark. God or Gorilla: Images of Evolution in the Jazz Age. British Journal for the History of Science 42, no. 4, 608-609.
Ralph O'Connor. The Earth on Show: Fossils and the Poetics of Popular Science, 1802-1856. Annals of Science 65, no. 4 (October 2008), 592-594.
Appointments
Assistant Professor of History, Stevens Institute of Technology 2009-Present
Lecturer, STS; Adjunct Lecturer, Department of History, Clemson University 2008-2009
Visiting Assistant Professor, History, Drew University 2007-2008
Achievements & Professional Societies
Honors & Awards
Community Involvement Award, Stevens Institute of Technology, SGA, (May 2011) National Science Foundation Travel Grant (2009, 2006) Adjunct Lecturer of the Year Award, Fairleigh Dickinson University, (2008) National Science Foundation Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (#0451534) National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Honorable Mention (2000, 1999) Drew University Summer Science Research Institute Grant, (1998)
Grants, Contracts & Funds
National Science Foundation Travel Grant (2009) National Science Foundation Travel Grant (2006) National Science Foundation Dissertation Research Improvement Grant #0451534 (2004) National Science Foundation , Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Honorable Mention (1999,2000) Drew University Summer Science Research Institute Grant (1998)
Professional Societies
American Historical Association History of Science Society British Society for the History of Science Phi Theta Kappa, Visionary Member American Society for Environmental History
Selected Publications
Books
Digrius, Dawn M. (2013). Sin el agua no hay vida: Water Management and Sustainabilty in Latin America, Univeristy of Alabama Press.
Book Chapters
Digrius, Dawn M. (Jan 2013). "Early Botany, 1880-1920", The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Darwin and Evolutionary Thought, edited by Michael Ruse, Cambridge University Press.
Digrius, Dawn M. (Jan 2012). "Food For Peace", Encyclopedia of U.S.- Latin American Relations, edited by Thomas M. Leonard, CQ Press. pp.353-354.
Digrius, Dawn M. (Jan 2012). "First International Conference of American States, Washington, 1889", Encyclopedia of U.S.- Latin American Relations, edited by Thomas M. Leonard, CQ Press. pp. 346-347.
Digrius, Dawn M. (Jan 2012). "The Inter-American Development Bank", Encyclopedia of U.S.- Latin American Relations, edited by Thomas M. Leonard, CQ Press. pp.492-494.
Digrius, Dawn M. (Dec 2008). "Gregor Mendel", Icons of Evolution: An Encyclopedia of People, Evidence and Controversies, edited by Brian Regal, Greenwood Icons, Greenwood Press. 87-113.
Journals
Digrius, Dawn M. (Feb 2011). "Lander, James. Lincoln and Darwin: shared vision of race, science, and religion", Choice Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, South Carolina. Book Review.
Digrius, Dawn M. (Dec 2009). "Constance A. Clark, God or Gorilla: Images of Evolution in the Jazz Age", Book Review, British Journal for the History of Science, 42 (04), 608-609.
Digrius, Dawn M. (Oct 2008). "Ralph O'Connor. The Earth on Show: Fossils and the Poetics of Popular Science, 1802-1856. ", Book Review, Annals of Science, 65 (4), 592-594.
