Elizabeth Hennessy

Elizabeth Hennessy is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, jointly appointed in the History Department and Environmental Studies Department. She is actively engaged with the Nelson Institute’s Center for Culture, History, and Environment (CHE) and serves as affiliate faculty with the Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies Program and the Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies.

• Ph.D. and M.A. in Geography from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• B.A. in Geography from Miami University

Her research sits at the intersection of environmental history, political ecology, science and technology studies, and the history of science, focusing on Latin America. She examines the interplay between conservation, tourism, and scientific narratives in the Galápagos Islands, and is currently exploring sustainability in the furniture industry. Through the HEAL project (Humanities Education for Anti-Racism Literacy in Sciences and Medicine), she develops educational frameworks to address histories of racism in STEM.

Hennessy’s scholarly contributions include a 2020 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award finalist book (On the Backs of Tortoises) and interdisciplinary publications analyzing conservation genetics, ecological mythmaking, and the politics of territorial governance in the Anthropocene.

• Leopold-Hidy Award for Best Paper in Environmental History
• Vilas Associate, UW-Madison
• Fellowships at UW-Madison Institute for Research in the Humanities, Rachel Carson Center, and ACLS/SSRC
• NSF grant recipient

She advises graduate students in environmental history and has contributed to curricular innovation through courses like Histories of Racism and Colonialism in Environmental Sciences and Thinking Through History with Animals.