Cecilia Slane
PhD Student
Broadly, I study the history of science, technology, and empire, specifically the study, extraction, and use of fossil fuels in colonial settings. I'm interested in how fossil fuels are understood in the sciences of geology and ecology, as well as the cultural importance of fuel/energy for the people who extract them. Primarily looking at the late 19th and early 20th century, my research asks how the science and extraction of energy sources was used to reinforce (settler)colonial control of Northern/Arctic environments through political and cultural means.
Previous Degrees:
BA, History with honors, summa cum laude, DePauw University
MA, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, University of Oklahoma
Research interests:
19th and 20th century history of science, technology, and empire; energy history; history of ecology; science and colonialism; rural studies.
Recent Scholarly Activity
Publications
Review of Timoney, Kevin, Hidden Scourge: Exposing the Truth about Fossil Fuel Industry Spills. H-Environment, H-Net Reviews. October 2023. https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=59044
“Protecting the Laboratory: Policing in Glacier Bay National Park,” The Macksey Journal vol. 1, 2020.
Presentations
"Consuming Conquest: US Oil Company Roadmaps and the Depiction of Settler History, 1933-1950," 4th World Congress of Environmental History, Oulu, Finland. August 19-23, 2024.
“Naming the Maintenance Man: Oil Infrastructure Management in Early 1940s Texas,” 65th Midwest Junto for the History of Science, Illinois State University. March 2024.
“Naturalizing Oil: Ecology and Oil in the Alaskan Arctic,” 41st Columbia History of Science Group Meeting, Friday Harbor, Washington. March 2023.
"An Ecological Shift: Environmental Images in 1970's Oil Company Magazines," Dale Society Fellowship presentation, University of Oklahoma. November 10, 2022.
