Elsa Devienne

Elsa Devienne is an Assistant Professor at Northumbria University's Faculty of Arts, Design and Social Sciences, where she has been teaching since 2019. Previously, she taught at Princeton University, Université Paris Nanterre, Science Po Paris and the École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. Her scholarly expertise focuses on environmental history, urban history, and the history of the body within the context of 20th-century United States, with particular attention to how everyday environments shape human experience and social relations.

Education:

• PhD in History, École des hautes études en sciences sociales
• MA in History, École normale supérieure de Lyon

Devienne's research is unified by her interest in understanding the mundane aspects of everyday life and how seemingly natural environments are socially and materially constructed. Her work demonstrates how spaces like beaches, urban areas, and public spaces have been transformed through historical processes that often reflect broader social inequalities. She approaches environmental history through the lens of environmental justice, consistently examining how environmental changes have benefited certain communities while disadvantaging others, particularly vulnerable populations. Her scholarship bridges historical analysis with contemporary environmental concerns, making historical perspectives directly relevant to current ecological challenges and policy discussions.

Her publications reveal a consistent focus on environmental and urban transformations, particularly in coastal settings. Across her work, she explores how human interventions have reshaped natural environments, how these spaces have been regulated and contested, and how they have served as sites for the construction of social identities and cultural practices. Her research spans multiple disciplines, connecting environmental history with urban studies, cultural history, and body studies to provide comprehensive analyses of human-environment relationships throughout the 20th century.

Scientific Awards:

• Willi Paul Adams Award (2021)
• Doyce B. Nunis, Jr. Award (2019)
• Finalist of the Prix de la Recherche SAES/AFEA (2021)
• The Arthur Miller Centre First Book Prize (June 2025)

Devienne has secured significant research funding from prestigious organizations including the Fulbright Program, Princeton-Mellon Initiative, British Association of American Studies, FACE Foundation, Historical Society of Southern California, Ahmanson Foundation, and British Academy/Leverhulme Small Grant scheme. She actively contributes to academic discourse through editorial work, including co-editing special issues on 'Beaches: Contested Territories' and 'Places and Cultures of Capitalism.' She serves on the executive committee of the British Association of American Studies, co-leading their sustainability initiative Green BAAS, and represents France in the European Society of Environmental History. Her current research projects include 'The War on Plastics: A History of the Anti-Plastics Movement in the US and the UK' (2025-2026), examining how environmental activism has shaped mainstream discourse on plastics, and a study on pedestrianism and air pollution in cities from the perspective of parents and children.

At Northumbria University, Devienne teaches American studies and history modules including 'From Sea to Shining Sea: US History from 1776 to 2008,' 'Affluence & Anxiety: US history 1920-1960,' and 'Red, White and Green: The American Environment through Time,' where she has pioneered efforts to integrate environmental perspectives into historical education. She regularly engages with public audiences through media appearances on radio, podcasts, and television, and has contributed to publications like Time Magazine and The Wall Street Journal, demonstrating her commitment to making historical scholarship accessible and relevant to contemporary environmental challenges.