Environmental and Animal Histories of Renaissance Italy

I am a faculty member in the departments of History and Italian Studies at New York University, where I also direct the Science and Society Minor. My research focuses on the environmental history of early modern Europe generally, and of Venice specifically. I am most interested in the ways that scientific and political institutions, social practices, and technology mediate the relationship between people and the natural world.

I have written about the history of forest management, the history of veterinary medicine, and the history of epizootic disease. I have also written about ecocritical approaches to literary texts, including The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Prince.

My work has won prizes from the American Historical Association, The Renaissance Society of America, the Forest History Society, and the American Society for Environmental History.

I have also won awards for both undergraduate and graduate teaching. I teach undergraduate courses on Renaissance Italy, early modern science and medicine, animal history, environmental history, and environmental humanities. Recent graduate seminars include Machiavelli-Guicciardini-Botero, Literature and Science in the Renaissance, Environmental History, and The History of Science and Technology.

Born in California, I grew up in Italy and on major construction sites in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Iran. After serving in the Army, I attended San Diego Mesa Community College before transferring to UCSD for my BA. I received my PhD from Northwestern University, where I worked with Ed Muir. After completing my PhD I spent two years at the Columbia Society of Fellows. I then taught at the University of Oregon. I arrived at NYU in 2004.