CURRICULUM VITA
PAMELA M. HENSON
Work Experience:
1993-present
Director, Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution
Archives. Directs institutional history program, including research,
writing, documentary editing and interviewing of Smithsonian staff
to document the history of the Smithsonian and American science.
2005-2010
2006
Historian in Residence, Department of History, American University
Adjunct Professor, Museum Studies Department, The George
Washington University
1993-2000
Consultant in Research, American Studies Program, George
Washington University. Responsible for advising graduate research.
1974-1993
Historian, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Responsible
for research, writing, and interviewing of Smithsonian staff
to document institutional history and history of American
science and for the archival program for science bureaus and
audiovisual collections.
1987-88
Visiting Instructor, Department of History, University of
Maryland. Taught graduate oral history seminar.
Education:
1990
Ph.D., Committee on History and Philosophy of Science,
University of Maryland. Dissertation: "Evolution and
Taxonomy: J. H. Comstock's Research School in Evolutionary
Entomology at Cornell University, 1874-1930." Research
areas: history and philosophy of biology. Dr. L. Darden,
advisor.
1976
Master of Arts in American Studies, George Washington
University. Thesis: "Development of Handicraft
Cooperatives in Appalachia." Research areas: American
material culture 1875 to 1970, especially the depression,
institutionalization of handicrafts, cooperatives, and children's play.
1971
Bachelor of Arts in American Studies, George Washington
University. Major areas: American studies and anthropology.
1
Papers and Publications:
2010
"One Hundreds Years of the Smithsonian in Panama," paper presented
to staff symposium, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama,
April.
2009
"From Analog to Digital: The Smithsonian Institution Archives Digital
Preservation Initiative," Oral History Association Newsletter, XLIII, No. 3
(Winter 2009), pp. 1, 4, 6.
"Creating New Narratives: Oral History and Photographs in Writing the
History of Recent Science," with Ron Doel, paper presented at the Oral
History Association meeting, Louisville, Kentucky, October.
2008
"Nineteenth Century Smithsonian Anthropologists: Creating a Discipline
and a Profession," AnthroNotes, 29 (1), pp. 12-18.
"Legal and Ethical Issues in Oral History for the Federal Historian," The
Federalist, 18 (Summer 2008), pp. 7-8.
"Ecology and Environmental Science in Panama: Intersections and
Collisions in the 1960s and 1970s," paper presented at the 3 History of
Science Societies Joint Meeting, Keble College, Oxford University, July.
2007
"Le mouvement d’étude de nature (Nature Study) aux Etats-Unis.
Citoyens et Science vers la fin du 19ème siècle. Le rôle d’Anna
Botsford Comstock," in Florian Charvolin, Andre Micoud and Lynn
Nyhart, eds., Des Sciences Citoyennes ? La Question de L’amateur dans
les Sciences Naturalistes. Ed. de l’Aube, La Tour d’Aigues, pp. 19-39.
2006
With Ronald E. Doel, "Reading Photographs: Photographs as Evidence in
Writing the History of Modern Science," in Ronald E. Doel and Thomas
Söderqvist, eds., Writing Recent Science: New Directions in the History of
Science. London: Routledge, pp. 201-235.
"Oral History in the Present Tense: Prospects in Oral History: Archival
Issues," paper presented at the American Historical Association meeting,
Philadelphia, January.
2005
"A Temple of National Identity: The United States National Museum,"
paper presented at the Association for Museum History conference,
Washington, D.C., October.
2
"Types, Pests, and Endangered Species: A History of the United States
National Entomological Collection," paper presented at the biennial
meeting of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and
Social Studies of Biology, Guelph, Canada, July.
"The Nature Study Movement in the United States: Citizens and
Science in the Late Nineteenth Century," paper presented at Citizen
Science Conference, Univ. of St. Etienne, St. Etienne, France, January.
2004
"A National Science and A National Museum." In Museums and Other
Institutions of Natural History: Past, Present, and Future, A. E. Leviton
and M. L. Aldrich, eds. San Francisco: California Academy of Sciences,
pp. 34-57.
2003
"Explorations and Expeditions." In At First Sight: Photography and the
Smithsonian, edited by Merry A. Foresta. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian
Institution Press.
"Images of American Science," with Ronald E. Doel. History of Science
Society annual meeting, Cambridge, November.
"‘What Holds the Earth Together’: Agnes Chase and American
Agrostology." Journal of the History of Biology, 36 (3), pp. 437-460.
"A National Science and A National Museum: The Smithsonian
Institution and the Emergence of American Science." American
Association for the Advancement of Science, Pacific Division/California
Academy of Sciences 100th anniversary, June.
2002
"Invading Arcadia: Women Scientists in the Field in Latin America, 19001950." The Americas, 58: 4, pp. 577-600.
2001
"James Smithson," in American National Biography. New York: Oxford
University Press.
"An International Research Group: Agnes Chase and Latin American
Botany," paper presented at the International Society for the History,
Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology meeting at Qunnipiac,
Connecticut, July.
2000
"A Invasão da Arcádia: as cientistas no Campo na América Latina, 19001950," Cadernos Pagu: Gênero, Ciências, História 15 (2000): 165-197.
3
"Spencer Baird’ Dream: A U.S. National Museum," essay in Cultures
and Institutions of Natural History, edited by M. T. Ghiselin and A. E.
Leviton, San Francisco: California Academy of Science, pp. 101-126.
"The Smithsonian Goes to War: The Increase and Diffusion of
Scientific Knowledge in the Pacific," essay in Science and the Pacific
War: Science and Survival in the Pacific, 1939-1945, edited by Roy M.
MacLeod, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 27-50.
"Anna Botsford Comstock and the Nature Study Movement," paper
presented at a conference on Gender, Science and Technology, St. Louis
University, October.
1999
"‘Objects of Curious Research’: The History of Science and Technology at
the Smithsonian," Isis, 90 (1999): S249-S269.
"Invading Arcadia: Women Scientists in the Field in Latin America, 19001950" at a session on "Field Science and Conservation in Latin America"
at the meeting of the International Society for the History, Philosophy,
and Social Studies of Biology, Oaxaca, Mexico, July.
"Baird’s Dream: A History of the Arts and Industries Building" in the
Smithsonian Institution Archives Research in Progress Lecture Series in
May.
"Anna Botsford Comstock," "John Henry Comstock," "Harrison Gray
Dyar," "Mary Jane Rathbun," and "Robert Edwards Carter Stearns" in
American National Biography. New York: Oxford University Press.
1998
"The Smithsonian Institution," A Historical Guide to the U.S.
Government, edited by George T. Kurian. New York: Oxford
University Press, pp. 531-35.
"Invading Arcadia: Women Scientists in the Field in Latin America, 19001950" at a session on "Field Science and Conservation in Latin America:
Historical Perspectives" at the annual meeting of the Latin American
Studies Association in Chicago in September.
"Baird’s Dream: A History of the Arts and Industries Building" in the
Smithsonian Institution Archives Research in Progress Lecture Series in
September.
With Ron Doel, "Photographs as Evidence: Images and the
4
Historiography of Recent Science" at the Second International Conference
on Problems in the Historiography of Recent Science, Technology and
Medicine in Copenhagen in July.
"From Smithson to Smithsonian: The Birth of an Institution," George
Washington University Elder hostel Program, July.
"The Embattled Secretary" in a Smithsonian Institution Archives Research
in Progress Lecture Series panel on "Samuel P. Langley: The Enigmatic
Secretary" in March.
1997
"Paul Bartsch," "William Temple Hornaday," "Frederick Charles
Lincoln," and "Edward A. Preble," in Biographical Dictionary
of American and Canadian Naturalists and Environmentalists,
edited by Kier B. Sterling, Richard P. Harmond, George A. Cevasco, and
Lorne F. Hammond. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1997.
Review of Entomology, Ecology and Agriculture: The Making of
Scientific Careers in North America, 1885-1985 by Paolo
Palladino (Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1996),
Journal of the History of Biology 30:3 (Fall 1997): 485-86.
"Invading Arcadia: Women Scientists in the Field in Latin America, 19001950," paper presented at the annual meeting of the History of Science
Society, November, San Diego.
"Oral History of Medicine," session chair at annual meeting of the Oral
History Association, September, New Orleans.
Introduction to Oral History Workshop, National Museum of the
American Indian, September, New York.
"Women’s Work in Politics and Oral History," talk at National Women=s
Democratic Club, September, Washington, D.C.
"‘Through Books to Nature’: Anna Botsford Comstock and the Nature
Study Movement, " in volume on Natural Eloquence: Women Reinscribe
Science, edited by Barbara T. Gates and Ann B. Shteir, Madison:
University of Wisconsin Press, 1997, pp. 116-143.
"From Smithson to Smithsonian: The Birth of an Institution," George
Washington University Elderhostel Program, July.
5
"James Lewis Macie aka James Smithson and the Founding of the
Smithsonian Institution," National Zoological Park History Lecture Series,
July.
Review of Brethren of the Net: American Entomology, 1840-1880, by
W. Conner Sorensen, in Journal of American History 84:1 (June 1997):
238-39.
"Oral History in an Electronic World," Navy History Symposium,
Washington Navy Yard, June.
"The Arts and Industries Building, 1880-1996," lecture to Smithsonian
Institution Docents, April.
1996
"To Tree or Not to Tree: John Henry Comstock’s Evolutionary
Phylogeny," lecture delivered to the British Museum (Natural History)
staff colloquium, London, October.
"‘Most Fully Recorded in the Works of Their Hands’: The Origins of a
National Collection of American Art and History, " keynote address to
conference on 19th Arts and Humanities Collections, Victoria & Albert
Museum, London, October.
"A Memorial to the United States Congress for Speedy Action on the
Bequest of James Smithson," lecture delivered at symposium on 19th
Century Institutions for Useful Public Knowledge at Westminster
University, London, October.
"‘A Long Catalogue of Munificent Donations’: Material Culture in the
History of the Smithsonian Institution," lecture delivered at the Forum on
Material Culture, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October.
"On-Line: Multimedia Access to Oral History Collections via Electronic
Media and the Internet," workshop taught at annual meeting of the Oral
History Association, Philadelphia, October.
"A Smithsonian Family Album: Oral History, Memory, and a Sense of
Work Place," panel discussion at annual meeting of the Oral History
Association, Philadelphia, October.
"From Smithson to Smithsonian: Defining Moments in the History of the
Smithsonian Institution," panel discussion for The Smithsonian
Associates, October.
6
"Spencer Fullerton Baird’s Vision for a National Museum," lecture to
National Museum of Natural History docents, Washington, D.C., October
"Looking Back at 23 Years at the Smithsonian," talk presented to the
Women in Museums Network, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.,
September.
"150 Years of Entomology at the Smithsonian," poster at the
International Entomological Congress, with M. Epstein, Florence,
Italy, August.
"Art for Science’s Sake," Zoogoer (September-October 1996): 21-26.
"Expeditions: 150 Years of Smithsonian Research in Latin America,"
exhibition catalogue, with J. Walsh, M. Dittmore and W. E. Cox,
InterAmerican Development Bank, October.
"150 Years of Scientific Illustration at the Smithsonian Institution," paper
presented at annual meeting of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators
and at National Museum of Natural History Friday lecture series, July.
"The Comstocks of Cornell: A Marriage of Interests," essay in volume on
Creative Couples in Science, edited by Pnina Abir-Am, Helena Pycior and
Nancy Slack, Rutgers University Press, 1996, pp. 112-125.
"The Smithsonian Institution," in symposium on "Institutions of Memory,"
at the annual meeting of the Organization of American Historians, March,
Chicago.
"Inventorying Our Continent: The Smithsonian Collects Our Natural
World," paper presented at the annual meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, February, Baltimore.
"Spencer Baird's Vision for a National Museum," lecture presented in the
Smithsonian Institution History Lecture Series sponsored by the 150th
Community Committee, January.
"Spencer Baird had a different vision for research at the Smithsonian,"
Smithsonian Research Reports, No. 183, Winter, pp. 5-6.
"Mary Agnes Chase," foreword for revised edited of First Book of
Grasses, by Mary Agnes Chase, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996,
7
pp. xiii-xviii
1995
"Electronic Access to Oral History Collections," workshop taught at
annual meeting of the Oral History Association, October, Minneapolis.
Forrest C. Pogue Award Lecture at fall meeting of Oral History in the
Mid-Atlantic Region, "Institution of Memory/Institution of Identity: The
Smithsonian Faces the Year 2000," October, Wilmington, Delaware.
"Recording Quality in Oral History," workshop organized at annual
meeting of the Society of American Archivists, September,
Washington, D.C.
"To Tree or Not to Tree? John Henry Comstock's Evolutionary
Phylogeny," paper presented at the International Society for the History,
Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, Leuven, Belgium, July.
"Making It Happen: Using Volunteers for Special Projects," lecture
delivered at the joint meeting of Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region
and Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference, Baltimore, Maryland,
April.
"Consumer and Advisor: The Historian in an Institutional Archives:
Notes from Paradise," lecture at the annual meeting of the Society for
History in the Federal Government, College Park, Maryland, March.
"Have Notepad, Will Travel: Lucile Quarry Mann and the National
Zoological Park," lecture delivered at National Zoological Park,
Washington, D. C., March.
"Spencer Baird and the United States National Collections," lecture
delivered at Smithsonian staff conference, "What About Increase: A
Science and Humanities Dialogue," National Zoological Park,
Washington, D. C., March.
1994
"Scientist or Advocate? Smithsonian Scientists and the Conservation of
the Tropical Rainforest in Panama," paper presented at the annual meeting
of the History of Science Society, New Orleans, October, and at History of
Science and Technology Colloquium, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, December.
"Comment on 'Canadian Responses to Darwinism' by Suzanne Zeller,"
conference on Responses to Darwinism, Dunedin, New Zealand, May.
8
"Advanced Problems in Oral History," discussion leader for workshop at
spring meeting of Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region, Arlington,
Virginia, April.
"The Increase and Diffusion of Knowledge Among Men and Women: The
History of Women at the Smithsonian," Smithsonian Institution
Women's History Month Noontime Lecture Series, March.
1993
"Alternatives to Tropical Destruction: The Role of Scientists at the
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in the Conservation of the
Panamanian Tropical Rainforest," paper presented at the History of
Science Society annual meeting, Santa Fe, New Mexico, November.
"Sources for the History of Oceanography at the Smithsonian Archives
and National Archives," History of Oceanography Newsletter 5 (Sept.
1993): 2-5.
"A Marriage of Interests: The Comstocks of Cornell," paper presented at
symposium on "Creative Couples in Science" at the XIX International
Congress of History of Science, Zaragosa, Spain, August.
"Smithsonian Resources in the History of Oceanography," lecture
presented at the V International Congress on the History of
Oceanography, San Diego, July.
"Smithsonian Institution Archives Processing Procedures Manual," with
William E. Cox. Printed by Office of Smithsonian Institution Archives.
"The History of History at the Smithsonian," paper presented during
symposium on the same topic organized for the Smithsonian History
Roundtable, July.
"Comstock's Research School at Cornell University, 1874-1930," Osiris,
volume 8, 158-177.
"Against All Odds: Pioneering Women at the Smithsonian," National
Museum of Natural History Friday Noontime lecture series, March.
"The Smithsonian Goes to War: The Increase and Diffusion of Scientific
Knowledge in the Pacific during World War II," paper presented at the
Research in Progress lecture series, Smithsonian Archives, January.
9
1992
"The Smithsonian Goes to War: The Increase and Diffusion of Scientific
Knowledge in the Pacific during World War II," paper presented at annual
meeting of History of Science Society, Washington, D. C., December.
"Evolution and Taxonomy: John Henry Comstock's Darwinian Method for
Taxonomy," paper presented at annual meeting of the Entomological
Society of America, Baltimore, December.
"Beginning an Oral History Project," workshop conducted at the fall
meeting of Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region, Washington, D. C.,
November.
"From Best to Worst and Back Again: A Forum on Interviewing
Experiences," session chair at annual meeting of the Oral History
Association, Cleveland, October.
"Digging for Dyar: The Man Behind the Myth," with Marc E. Epstein,
American Entomologist 38 (Fall 1992): 148-169.
"Order and Chaos in the Work of Charles Darwin and Stephen Jay
Gould," lecture presented to faculty of Charles E. Smith Jewish Day
School, Rockville, Maryland, September.
"Digging for Dyar: The Man behind the Myth," lecture with Marc E.
Epstein at Smithsonian Archives Research in Progress lecture in January;
Washington Entomological Society banquet in June; the Lepidopterists'
Society annual meeting in East Lansing, Michigan, in June; and National
Museum of Natural History Friday lecture series in October.
"Videohistory: Focusing on the American Past,” with Terri A.
Schorzman, reprinted in the Oral History Association Newsletter 25
(Winter 1992): 3-5 and 26 (Spring 1992): 8.
"Gender and Marriage in Science: Anna Botsford and John Henry
Comstock," presented at the National Museum of American History
Tuesday colloquium in February.
1991
"Beyond Paper: Documenting Museum Collections with Video," lecture
presented at the annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists,
Philadelphia, September.
"Videohistory: Focusing on the American Past,” with Terri A.
Schorzman, Journal of American History 78 (September 1991): 618-27.
10
"‘Teach Them to Love Nature’: Anna Botsford Comstock and the Nature
Study Movement," lecture in the Cornell University Summer School
Centennial Symposia series, Ithaca, New York, July.
"The Smithsonian Goes to War: The Increase and Diffusion of Scientific
Knowledge in the Pacific during World War II," paper presented in a
symposium on "Science Mobilized in World War II," at the 17th Pacific
Science Congress, Honolulu, Hawaii, May.
1990
"John Henry Comstock's Research School in Evolutionary Entomology at
Cornell University, 1874-1930," paper presented at the annual meeting of
the History of Science Society, Seattle, Washington, October.
"Evolution and Taxonomy: John Henry Comstock's Research School in
Evolutionary Entomology at Cornell University, 1874-1930," Ph.D.
dissertation, University of Maryland, May.
"Introduction to Oral History Processing," session chair at meeting of Oral
History in the Mid-Atlantic Region, Beltsville, Maryland, May.
"Visual Documentation and Historical Research," paper presented at the
joint meeting of the Organization of American Historians and Society for
History in the Federal Government, Washington, D. C., March.
1989
Workshop on oral history, centennial meeting of the American Society of
Zoologists, Cambridge, Massachusetts, December.
"Memories of the Field: Merging Oral History Audiotapes with Archival
Films," paper presented at the annual meeting of the Oral History
Association, Galveston, Texas, October.
"Mary L. Jobe Akeley." In Dictionary of American Biography, ed. John
A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes. New York: American Council of
Learned Societies.
1988
"A Short Note on Hull's ‘A Mechanism and Its Metaphysics: An
Evolutionary Account of the Social and Conceptual Development of
Science'." Biology & Philosophy 3: 192-93.
"The Care and Handling of Audiovisual Collections,” workshop taught
for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference, Williamsburg,
Virginia, September.
11
"Visual Information and Oral History Interviews," workshop taught at
Southwest Oral History Association, Solvang, California, April.
"The Video Connection: Oral History and Archival Films," paper given at
the spring meeting of Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region, National
Archives, Washington, D. C., March.
1987
"John Henry Comstock of Cornell: The Early Years," paper presented to
the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology symposium at
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, November.
"The Relationship of Oral History to Archival and Audiovisual
Collections," Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region Newsletter
10: 8-11.
"Bringing the Lab to Life: Videohistory of Scientists," session
coordinator and commentator, Oral History Association annual meeting,
St. Paul, Minnesota, October.
"The Smithsonian-Firestone Expedition to Liberia in 1940 to Collect
Animals for the National Zoological Park," lecture and film presentation,
Research in Progress lecture series, Smithsonian Archives, October.
"Preservation of Audio Tape" and "Arrangement and Description of Audio
and Video Collections," lectures given at Smithsonian staff seminar on
"Care of Audio-Visual Collections," Washington, D. C., September.
"Conceptual Units of Analysis in History of Biology," paper presented at
the Summer Conference on the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of
Biology, Blacksburg, Virginia, June.
"Archival Implications of the Uses of Oral History Interviews and
Audio-Visual Collections," paper presented at the Mid-Atlantic Regional
Archives Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, May.
"Federal Oral History Projects," session at the annual meeting of the
Society for History in Federal Government, Washington, D. C., April.
"The Smithsonian Videohistory Program," lecture given at the Institute on
Global Conflict and Cooperation of the University of California, La Jolla,
California, February.
12
1986
"Why Pieris rapae is a better name than Artogeia rapae (Pieridae)," with
Robert K. Robbins. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 40: 79-92.
"The Wetmore-Perrygo Expeditions to Panama," lecture and film
presentation, Research in Progress lecture series, Smithsonian Institution
Archives, June.
"The Insect Taxonomy of John Henry Comstock of Cornell," paper
presented to the Joint Atlantic Seminar in the History of Biology,
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, June.
1985
"Evidence that Pieris rapae is a better name than Artogeia rapae," paper
presented with Robert K. Robbins to the Lepidopterists' Society,
Columbus, Ohio.
"The Impact of Evolutionary Theory on Insect Taxonomy," paper
presented to the Summer Conference on History, Philosophy and
Sociology of Biology, Notre Dame, Indiana, July.
1983
"Audio-visual uses of oral history." Annotated bibliography in The Craft
of Public History, ed. David B. Trask. Washington, D. C.: National
Council on Public History.
1982
"Oral History Project Procedures Manual," with Susan L. McMurray,
printed by Smithsonian Institution Archives. (Revised 1987 and 1988.)
1981
"President's Column," Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region Newsletter
5, nos. 1-3.
1980
"Mary Agnes Chase" and "Harold Fred Dorn." In Dictionary of American
Biography, ed. John Garraty. New York: A.C.L.S.
"Oral History and Archives," paper presented at meeting of Mid-Atlantic
Regional Archives Conference, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, October.
1979
"Oral History at the Smithsonian," Oral History Association Newsletter
13: 1, 6.
"The Study of Children's Play in the United States" with Bernard Mergen,
Chesapeake American Studies Quarterly, spring, 1-2.
13
Exhibits:
2010
"Celebrating 100 Years: National Museum of Natural History, " National
Museum of Natural History.
2009
"Darwin’s Legacy," with Sandra Herbert, Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Exhibit Gallery, National Museum of Natural History, through Sept. 2010.
1999
"Smithsonian Expeditions: Exploring Latin America and the Caribbean,"
with Jane M. Walsh and Margaret Dittemore, Miami Museum of Science,
November 1999, until 2006.
1998
"Baird’s Dream: A History of the Arts and Industries Building, "
Smithsonian Institution Archives gallery, September 1998 to December
1999.
1996
"Smithson's Gift: The Story of a Bequest," Great Hall of the Castle,
Curator, January 1996, permanent.
"150 Years of Science at the Smithsonian," photograph exhibit at the
National Academy of Sciences, April 1996.
"Eyes on Science: Illustrating Natural History," National Museum of
Natural History, Co-curator, 28 June 1996 - 1 January 1997.
"Picturing Natural History: Past, Present, Future," Smithsonian Institution
Libraries Staff Gallery, National Museum of Natural History, member of
curatorial team, 3 July 1996 - 1 January 1997.
"From Smithsonian to Smithsonian: The Birth of an Institution,"
Smithsonian Institution Libraries Exhibition Gallery, National Museum of
American History," Lead Curator, 28 June 1996 - 1 January 1997.
"Working at the Smithsonian," Festival of American Folklife, co-curator
with staff of Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies, June-July
1996.
"Expeditions: 150 Years of Smithsonian Research in Latin America,"
InterAmerican Development Bank Cultural Center Gallery, co-curator,
October.
1973
"The Study of Children's Play in the United States," George Washington
University, Co-curator, May - December.
14
Websites:
2010
"100 Years at the National Museum of Natural History,"
http://www.mnh.si.edu/onehundredyears/
2007
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives,
http://www.siarchives.si.edu/history/main.html
Grants, Awards and Honors:
2008
Smithsonian Collections Care grant to digitize the Smithsonian
Videohistory Collection.
2005
Smithsonian Research Equipment Pool grant for digital audio
recording equipment.
2004
Smithsonian Information Resource Management pool grant to digital
legal documents relating to the Smithsonian for use on the internet.
2000
Digital Library Grant to prepare 3000 historical images from the
Smithsonian Institution Archives for the internet.
1999
Research Resources Grant to preserve and remaster oral history audio
tapes.
1998
Smithsonian Women’s Committee Grant to produce an electronic version
of the "Eyes on Science: Illustrating Natural History" exhibit.
1997
Research Resources Grant to preserve and make accessible the Oral
History Collection recorded at the 1996 Festival of American Folklife.
Latino Funding Pool Grants (2) to develop database on collections in
Smithsonian Institution Archives documenting Smithsonian relations with
Latin America and to bring a scholar from Cuba to SI to conduct research
on the history of Smithsonian/Cuban scientific collaboration.
1995
Forrest C. Pogue Award for outstanding contributions to the field of oral
history from Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Research Resources Grants (2) to conserve the James Smithson Collection
in Smithsonian Institution Archives and to compile databases on the
15
history of women and African Americans at the Smithsonian Institution.
Research Opportunities Fund grant to present lecture on the history of
phylogeny at the meeting of the International Society for the History,
Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, in Leuven, Belgium, July.
1993
Research Opportunities Fund grant to present lecture on gender issues in
scientific collaboration at the Xth International Congress of the History of
Science, Zaragosa, Spain, August.
1990
Research Opportunities Fund grant to present paper on SI in World War II
at Pacific Science Congress in Honolulu, Hawaii, teach videohistory
workshop at the University of Hawaii, and advise archival staff of the
Bernice P. Bishop Museum, May.
1989-90
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant to Smithsonian Institution to videotape
interviews on "Science in National Life." Principal investigator for series
on scientists as policy advisors on environmental conservation.
1988
Smithsonian Institution Research Opportunities Fund grant to conduct
research at Stanford University Archives on the history of evolution and
taxonomy, and to lecture on the Smithsonian Videohistory Program to the
Southwest Oral History Association meeting, Solvang, California, April.
1987
Smithsonian Women's Committee grant to Smithsonian Archives to
support seminar for Smithsonian staff care of audio-visual collections.
1986-1987
Atherton Seidell grants, Smithsonian Institution, for transfer of historic
film footage to videotape.
1985
Phi Kappa Phi, University of Maryland
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant to Smithsonian Institution to support
videotaping interviews on "Science in the National Life." Principal
investigator for series on history of paleontology.
1985
Atherton Seidell grant, Smithsonian Institution, for production of narrated
videotapes of Smithsonian expeditions to Panama in the 1950s.
1982
Fellow, International School of the History of Biology, Naples Zoological
Station, Naples, Italy.
16
Professional Organizations:
American Historical Association
Organization of American Historians
History of Science Society, Council, 2009- ; Chair, Committee on
Research and the Profession, 2009-2011; Co-chair, Women’s Caucus,
2003-5; History of Women in Science Prize Committee, 1994-1996;
Women's Committee representative to the Federation of Organizations of
Professional Women, 1987-1992; Isis Editorial Board, 2000-2003
International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of
Biology, archivist, 1989-; Operations Committee, 2003-; Program
Committee, 2002-2003; Marjorie Grene Prize Committee, 2002-2006
Journal of the History of Biology, Editorial Board, 2003-2009
Journal of Museum History, Editorial Board, 2008Washington History of Science Club, board member, 1986
Forum for the History of Science in America; coordinating
committee member, 1992-1994
Society of Women Geographers, Active Group Member, 1994Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Advisory Committee for
History of Science and Technology, 1993-1995, 2004-2006
Material Culture Forum, Smithsonian, steering committee, 2000-2005
Smithsonian Institution History Roundtable, board member, 1991-1994
Smithsonian Institution Community Committee, 1997-2002
Smithsonian Institution Sesquicentennial Celebration Planning
Committee: member, Community Committee, 1995-1996; resource
person, Program Committee, 1995-1996; member, Electronic Media
Task Force, 1995-1996
Museum Archives Roundtable
Oral History Association, member, membership development
committee, 1994-1997, member, publications committee, 1992-1999;
member, editorial board, 1985-1990; chair, nominating
committee, 1987-1989; member, ad hoc committee to review
implications of digital revolution for oral history, 1997-1998; chair,
subcommittee on videohistory of the ad hoc committee to revise the
evaluation guidelines, 1988-1989; member, ad hoc committee to revise
the principles and standards, 1989-1990
Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region,
president, 1981; member, Forrest C. Pogue Award Committee; member,
workshop committee, 1992-1993; nominating committee, 2003-2005
Society for History in the Federal Government
liaison with the Oral History Association; nominating committee, 19982000; prize committee, 1999B2003
American Association for the Advancement of Science, History
17
Advisory Committee, 1995-1998
Conferences:
2003
Program Committee for biennial conference of International Society for
History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, Vienna, Austria.
1997
Program Organizing Committee for "Dialogues II: What About
Diffusion?," a Smithsonian staff seminar to foster communication
and a discussion of mutual concerns between researchers and
outreach professionals.
1995
Program Chair for "What About Increase?: A Science and Humanities
Dialogue," a Smithsonian staff seminar to foster communication and
discuss mutual concerns between scientists and humanists.
1987
Co-chair with Diane Vogt of Smithsonian staff seminar on "Care of
Audio-Visual Collections."
1982
Co-chair with Toby Appel for Joint Atlantic Seminar in the History of
Biology, National Museum of American History.
1979
Program chair for fall meeting of Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region
on "Oral History at the Smithsonian," at the Smithsonian Institution.
1976
Program co-chair for spring meeting of Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic
Region at George Mason University.
18
Advising:
2010
Ashley Carse, short term visiting fellow, University of North Carolina,
dissertation on the cultural context of the Smithsonian’s tropical biology
station in Panama.
Megan Raby, University of Wisconsin at Madison, dissertation on tropical
Biology stations in the early twentieth century.
2009
Alistair Sponsel, predoctoral fellow, Princeton University, history of coral
reef research.
Matthew Laubacher, predoctoral fellow, Arizona State University, history
of 19th century natural history collecting practices.
Robin Scheffler, predoctoral fellow, Yale University, history of tropical
biology.
Nancy Bercaw, senior postdoctoral fellow, University of Mississippi,
history of physical anthropological collections of African American and
Native Americans.
Virginia Myhaver, predoctoral fellow, Boston University, cultural impact
of the Bicentennial of the American Revolution.
Noah Cincinnati, predoctoral fellow, Johns Hopkins University,
collecting practices for zoos in the early 20th century.
Johnny M. Winston, doctoral candidate, Arizona State University, outside
reader for dissertation on the history of the Endangered Species Act.
2008
Clayton Brown, postdoctoral fellow, University of Pittsburgh, archeology
and the search for China's national origins in the 1920s through the 1940s.
Martin Thomas, postdoctoral fellow, Technical University of Sydney,
cultural dynamics and influence of Smithsonian/Australia Arnhemland
Expedition of 1948.
2007
Taika Dahlbom, predoctoral Fulbright fellow, University of Tuulu,
Finland, biographies of natural history specimens
Brian Daniels, predoctoral fellow, University of Pennsylvania,
social scientists, cultural policies and preservation of American
19
heritage, 1900-1976.
Erika Figueiredo, predoctoral visiting fellow, UNICAMP, Brazil,
anthropology applied to international public health and development
programs after Second World War.
Courtney Fullilove, predoctoral fellow, Columbia University, relationship
of property rights to the promotion of science in 19th c. United States.
Lisa M. Uddin, predoctoral fellow, University of Rochester, history of
U.S. zoological parks to civic renewal in the 1950s.
2006
Marie Plassart, predoctoral/Fulbright Fellow, University of Lyon, the
Smithsonian as a national institution.
Janos Kubassek, Fulbright Fellow, Hungarian Geographical Museum,
biography of 19th century naturalist John Xantus.
Andres Rodriguez, Oxford University, missionary anthropological work
in southwest China during the Republican period.
2005
Elizabeth Ferry, postdoctoral fellow, Brandeis University, cultural
history of mineral collecting in Mexico.
William Walker, predoctoral fellow, Brandeis University, presentation
of folklife at Smithsonian museums and public programs.
Fa-Ti Fan, postdoctoral fellow, University of Wisconsin at Madison,
American scientific exploration of China, 1900s-1940s.
Dan Lewis, Curator, The Huntington Library, Robert Ridgway and
American ornithology, 1850-1950.
2004
Christine Keiner, postdoctoral fellow, Rochester Institute of Technology,
post-Earth Day environmental science and politics at the Smithsonian.
Heather Ewing, short term visiting fellow, biography of James
Smithson, 1765-1829.
Leslie Madsen, graduate student fellow, University of California at
Davis, women in natural history institutions.
2003
Edward Robinson, predoctoral fellow, University of Oxford,
20
America’s earliest photographic history collection: contributions of
photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston.
2002
Judith McKay, Affiliations Fellow, Queensland Museum, exhibits
at international expositions.
Paul S. Sutter, postdoctoral fellow, University of Virginia, history of
environment, disease, race and the U.S. sanitary engineering in Panama.
2001
Gerard Fitzgerald, predoctoral fellow, Carnegie Mellon University,
dissertation on aerobiology in post World War II United States.
Eve Buckley, graduate student fellow, University of Pennsylvania, history
of U.S. botanical research and agricultural development in Latin America,
1860-1960.
2000
James Todd Uhlmann, predoctoral fellow, Rutgers University, dissertation
on concepts of the foreign in the nineteenth century.
Juliet Burba, predoctoral fellow, University of Minnesota, dissertation on
the early man controversy and its role in the professionalization of
anthropology.
1999
Kae Takarabe, short term visiting fellow from Nagoya University, Japan,
conducting research on the influence of the Smithsonian’s National
Museum on the development of natural history museums in Japan in the
19th century.
Joanne M. Gernstein London, Ph.D. candidate, American Studies
Department, The George Washington University, dissertation reader for
dissertation on unfulfilled plans for a military museum at the Smithsonian.
Michael Robinson, predoctoral fellow, University of Wisconsin,
dissertation on popular portrayals of Arctic exploration in the nineteenth
century.
Juan Ilerbaig, predoctoral fellow, University of Minnesota, dissertation on
natural history field work in the nineteenth century.
1998
Patrick Wirtz, University of Southern California, predoctoral fellow
conducting research on zoos as urban landscapes.
Pedro M. Pruna-Goodgall, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow from the Cuban
21
Academy of Sciences, conducting research on twentieth century scientific
interaction between the Smithsonian and Cuban Academy of Sciences.
1997
Catherine Christen, Johns Hopkins University, postdoctoral fellow
working on the history of tropical biology stations.
Brad Hume, University of Indiana, predoctoral fellow working on
the development of anthropology in the United States.
Christian McMillan, University of Montana, predoctoral fellow
working on 19th century land use policy in the West and Native
American land use practices.
Melody Herr, Johns Hopkins University, predoctoral fellow working
on public perceptions of anthropology in the 1930s and 1940s.
Yolanda Texera-Arnal, Venezuela, short term visiting scholar
researching the history of Latin American botany.
Dan Herman, postdoctoral fellow writing a book on hunting and
natural history in the United States.
1996
Lea Velho, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Visiting Fellow, research on
the history of tropical biology.
Jennifer Anderson-Lawrence, Museum Programs Fellow, conducting
research on the history of museum education.
Roy MacLeod, University of Sydney, Visiting Fellow, research on the
Ethnogeographic Board.
1995
Hae-Gyung Geong, predoctoral Fellow, University of Wisconsin,
conducting research on the history of entomology at the United States
Department of Agriculture, especially the role of Leland Ossian Howard,
1900-1950.
Joseph A. Taylor, predoctoral Fellow, University of Washington,
conducting research on the history of the salmon industry on the West
Coast.
1994-95
Pedro M. Pruna-Goodgall, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, Cuban Academy
of Sciences, conducting research on nineteenth century scientific interaction between Smithsonian and Cuban Academy of Sciences.
22
Cornelia Sears, predoctoral fellow, University of California at Berkeley,
conducting dissertation research on popular perceptions of African based
on scientific research and exploration.
Elizabeth Hanson, predoctoral fellow, University of Pennsylvania,
dissertation research on the history of collecting for zoological parks.
1993-95
Director, dissertation committee, American Studies Program, The George
Washington University, for Nancy Gwinn dissertation on international
exchanges of scientific literature in the nineteenth century.
Steven Allison, Cornell University, predoctoral fellow, research on
representation of the tropical rainforest in Smithsonian exhibitions. Also
served as first reader on Allison's dissertation committee.
Helen Rozwadowski, University of Pennsylvania, predoctoral fellow,
research on history of 19th century oceanography. Also served as reader
on dissertation committee.
Linda J. Lear, senior postdoctoral fellow, conducting research for a critical
biography of Rachel Carson.
1993
Maria Margaret Lopes, short-term visiting scholar from Brazil, conducting
dissertation research on influence of the United States National Museum
on the development of Latin American museums.
Anne Larsen Hollerbach, Princeton University, postdoctoral fellow,
research on natural history collecting practices in nineteenth century
America.
1992
First reader, dissertation committee, Department of History, Princeton
University, Anne Larsen Hollerbach dissertation, "Not Since Noah: The
Dynamics of Community & Collecting in British Zoology, 1800-1840."
Edmund Russell, University of Michigan, Smithsonian pre-doctoral
fellow, research on war metaphors in pesticide use.
Edward H. Smith, Cornell University, Smithsonian senior postdoctoral
fellow, biography of Charles V. Riley, first U.S. Chief Entomologist.
Yolanda Texera Arnal, short-term visiting scholar from Venezuela,
research on botanical exploration of Venezuela.
23
Todd L. Grantham, Northwestern University, short-term visiting scholar,
research on gender bias in refereeing of scientific articles with David L.
Hull and Pamela M. Henson.
Patricia Moore, University of California at Los Angeles, Smithsonian
predoctoral fellow, research on women botanists in the West.
1991
Daniel R. Goldstein, Yale University, Smithsonian postdoctoral fellow,
research on relations between the Smithsonian and western academies of
science.
Mark Barrow, Harvard University, Smithsonian short-term scholar,
research on the history of ornithology in the United States.
1989
Joel B. Hagen, University of Oregon, Smithsonian postdoctoral fellow,
research on the history of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
1988-1991
Intern coordinator, Smithsonian Archives
Personal Data:
Cell
703-618-4486
Work Address: Smithsonian Institution Archives
Capital Gallery West, Room 3000
P.O. Box 37012, MRC 507
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Work phone:
FAX
email
202-633-5907
202-633-5928
henson@american.edu
24