Rebecca M. McLennan

Rebecca M. McLennan is Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley, holding the Preston Hotchkis Chair in the History of the United States. She has served at UC Berkeley since 2003, progressing from Assistant Professor to full Professor (2021-present), and maintains affiliations with Berkeley Law's Jurisprudence and Social Policy program. Her scholarship bridges historical analysis with legal and social theory to examine American institutions within global frameworks.

Her academic credentials include:

• Ph.D. in History, Columbia University (1999, Bancroft Award winner)
• M.Phil. in History, Columbia University (1993)
• M.A. in History, Columbia University (1991)
• B.A. with First Class Honours in History, University of Otago, New Zealand (1989)

Professor McLennan's research centers on the historical development of American legal and penal systems through interdisciplinary lenses. She investigates how law intersects with capitalism, environmental forces, and social hierarchies, particularly examining incarceration's evolution from colonial times to the modern carceral state. Her work on foodways reveals transnational cultural exchanges, while her theoretical contributions analyze the relationship between state power and individual rights across centuries.

Her recent publications demonstrate a methodological shift toward maritime legal history and comparative penal theory. The 2018 Bering Sea conflict studies exemplify her ability to connect 19th-century jurisdictional battles with contemporary ocean governance debates, while her responses to contemporary penal theory ground abstract concepts in historical realities of prisoner experiences and systemic violence.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• John Philip Reid Book Award (2009)
• Cromwell Book Prize (2009)
• Littleton-Griswold Prize (2009)
• Bancroft Award for Best Dissertation (1999)
• Whiting Fellowship in the Humanities (1996-97)
• Multiple Columbia University fellowships

Professor McLennan has actively shaped graduate education through committee service including the Graduate Advisory Committee and U.S. Search Committee. Her research has been sustained by prestigious fellowships including the Whiting and Columbia University awards, enabling deep archival work on penal history and legal evolution. She has developed innovative courses like Historical Ecologies: Nature, Law, and Capitalism that bridge environmental and legal history.

She co-founded Columbia's History and American Studies Group and currently participates in Berkeley's Law and Humanities Working Group. Her public engagement includes advising the Academy Award-nominated film Last Day of Freedom and KQED's Life of the Law series, translating historical insights into contemporary criminal justice discourse through documentary partnerships and multimedia projects.