Perrin Selcer

Perrin Selcer is an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, holding appointments in the Department of History and Program in the Environment. His work bridges environmental history, history of science, and international relations, focusing on 20th-century environmental and human sciences, international organizations, and U.S. global engagement. He teaches courses such as Global Environmental History (HIST/ENVIRON 237), Science, Technology, Medicine and Society (HIST 285/RC 275), and World and Global History (HIST 610).

• Education: PhD in History and Sociology of Science from the University of Pennsylvania
• Research Focus: Intersections of environmental history, history of science, and international relations; scale-making practices in science; Anthropocene studies

His monograph Science for a World Community: The United Nations and the Postwar Origins of the Global Environment (Columbia University Press, 2018) examines how UN agencies shaped global environmental consciousness. Current projects explore the Holocene epoch as an interdisciplinary meeting ground for natural and human history.

Scientific Awards:

• Best Dissertation Award from the Forum for the History of the Human Sciences
• National Science Foundation grant for research expansion

Selected publications analyze topics like the FAO-UNESCO Soil Map of the World, UNESCO's race statements, and scientific management practices during World War I. His work reveals recurring themes in environmental knowledge production and internationalist scientific endeavors.