Carolyn Merchant

Curriculum Vitae

Degrees

• A.B. Chemistry, Vassar College, 1958
• M.A. and Ph.D. History of Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1962, 1967
• Doctor Honoris Causa, Umea University, Umea, Sweden, 1995
• Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, California Institute of Integral Studies, 2018

Honors

• Westinghouse Science Talent Search, among top ten in nation, 1954
• E.B. Fred Fellow, University of Wisconsin, 1963-67
• American Council of Learned Societies Fellow, 1978 (As Carolyn Iltis)
• Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences Fellow, Stanford, CA, 1978, 2017
• Sigma Xi National Lecturer (The Scientific Research Society), 1982-4
• Fulbright Senior Scholar, University of Umea, Sweden, 1984
• Visiting Professor, Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris, France, June, 1986
• Visiting Fellow, Murdoch University, Western Australia, 1991
• John Simon Guggenheim Fellow, 1995
• Chancellor's Professor, U.C. Berkeley, 1998
• Educational Initiatives Award, U.C. Berkeley, 2000
• John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellow in the Ecological Humanities, National Humanities Center, 2001
• President, American Society for Environmental History, 2001-2003
• Career Achievement Award, U.C. Berkeley, College of Natural Resources, 2008
• Townsend Center, Mellon Foundation Fellowship: Classical Studies and Contemporary Humanities, 2009-10
• Distinguished Scholar Award, American Society for Environmental History, 2010
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011
• Fellow, American Council of Learned Societies, 2012
• Member, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, 2012
• Distinguished Service Award, American Society for Environmental History, 2017
• Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, Marquis Who's Who, 2019
• Who's Who of Professional Women, 2020
• Marquis Who's Who in America, 2022
• Distinguished Achievement Award, Vassar College, 2024
• Society of Woman Geographers Distinguished Achievement Award, 2025

Named and Distinguished Lectures

1. Zarem Distinguished Lecture, Harvey Mudd College, November 19, 1980
2. Kreeger-Wolf Distinguished Visiting Professor, Northwestern University, November 20, 1985
3. Chancellor's Lecture, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, March 7, 1987
4. Richard Jones Memorial Lecture, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia, May 13, 1991
5. Forum Lecturer, Humanities Institute, University of Toledo, April 6-8, 1992
6. Cecil and Ida Green Professor, University of Vancouver, Vancouver, Canada, February 1-5, 1993
7. Atwood Lecturer, Graduate School of Geography, Clark University, Worcester, MA, October 10, 11, 1994
8. Doctor Honoris Causa lecture, Umea University, September 15, 1995
9. First John Caughey Memorial Lecture, Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, November 3, 1996
10. Goodspeed Lecturer, Denison College, Granville, Ohio, February 11, 1997
11. John Brinckerhoff Jackson Memorial Lecture, Harvard University, April 3, 1997
12. Eugene Odum Annual Lecture, University of Georgia, Athens, November 14, 1997
13. The 1998 Timothy Linnemann Memorial Lecture, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO, April 22, 1998
14. Second Annual Ian McHarg Lecture, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, February 7, 2000
15. Tanner Foundation and President's Inaugural Lecturer, Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake City, UT, April 23, 2001
16. Throckmorton Lecture, University of Portland, Portland, OR, February 24, 2003
17. Presidential Address to the American Society for Environmental History, Providence, RI, March 27, 2003
18. Henrietta Harvey Distinguished Lecture, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, March 24, 2004
19. President's Distinguished Lecture, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, October 1, 2004
20. Science and Technology Studies Distinguished Lecture, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, November 5, 2004
21. Russell Lecture, Alfred University, Alfred, New York, April 4, 2006
22. Thomas and Albert J. Shipka Lecture, Youngstown State University, February 12, 2008
23. Women, Science, and Technology Distinguished Lecturer, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, February 24, 2009
24. Branigin Lecturer of the Institute for Advanced Study, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, March 30, 2009
25. Bernard Moses Memorial Lecture, U.C. Berkeley, May 4, 2010
26. The 2011 Phebe Estelle Spalding Lecture, Pomona College Women's Commission, Feb. 3, 2011
27. Keynote address to the 12th Biennial Meeting of the International Margaret Cavendish Society, June 23, 2017
28. Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Lecture, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA, May 18, 2018

Employment

University of California, Berkeley

• 2019-present: Professor of the Graduate School, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management
• 1986-2018: Professor of Environmental History, Philosophy, and Ethics, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM)
• 2005-07: Chair, ESPM Division of Society and Environment
• 1984-89: Chair, Department of Conservation and Resource Studies
• 1980-86: Associate Professor
• 1979-80: Assistant Professor
• 1974-75: Visiting Lecturer in the Collegiate Seminar Program, Strawberry Creek College

University of San Francisco

• 1976-78: Associate Professor of History of Science, Department of Physics and Natural Sciences Interdisciplinary Program
• 1975-76: Assistant Professor
• 1969-74: Lecturer in History of Science

Oregon State University

• 1969: Visiting Lecturer in History of Science, General Science Department

Publications

15 books (11 single-authored books, 3 edited books, 1 co-edited book). Books translated into German, Italian, Swedish, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, and Russian.

View complete list of articles with downloadable PDFs

Major Grants

• National Science Foundation Grants
• National Endowment for the Humanities Grants
• California Council for the Humanities Grant
• Nathan Cummings Foundation Grant
• University of California Berkeley: Research; Teaching; Technology; Humanities GSR; Futures
• University of California Berkeley, Agricultural Experiment Station

Professional Service and Memberships

History of Science Society

• Member, 1962-present
• Council, 1973-5
• Committee on Women in History of Science, chair, 1973-4; member, 1975-present
• Nominating Committee, 1978
• Committee on Women in the History of Science, Co-chair, 1992-4

American Society for Environmental History

• Member, 1980-present
• Executive Committee, 1981-1993; 1999-2009
• Associate Editor, Environmental Review, 1984-1989
• Editorial Advisory Board, Environmental History, 1990-2010
• Vice-President, 1999-2001
• President, 2001-2003

Editorial Boards

• Advisory Board, Environmental Ethics, 1990-2000
• Advisory Board, Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment (ISLE), 1993-present
• Advisory Board, Ethics and the Environment, 1997-present
• Advisory Board, Organization and Environment, 1997-present
• Editorial Board, Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 2009-present

Public Service

• Mayor's Community Energy Commission, 1981-3; Steering Committee, 1981-3
• Berkeley Bayfront Conservancy Fund, Board of Directors, 1985-6
• Westinghouse Science Talent Search Advisor, 1984-present
• Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve Science Council, 1997-present
• Rachel's Network, Advisory Board, 2002-present
• Sierra Nevada Deep Ecology Institute, Advisory Board, 2002-present

Keynote Addresses at Professional Meetings

Over 24 invited keynote addresses at professional conferences including:

• "Women and the Environmental Movement," Williams College, 1981
• "The Global Ecological Revolution," University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, 1991
• "Whither Environmental History?" American Society of Environmental History, Pittsburgh, 1993
• "Climate Change and the Humanities," Portland State University, 2009
• "Margaret Cavendish: Natural Philosopher and Feminist," International Margaret Cavendish Society, 2017

Lectures and Papers

Over 369 lectures, papers, and keynotes at professional conferences and at colleges and universities throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Brazil. Recent lectures include:

• "Feminism and the Environment," Distinguished Achievement Award Lecture, Society of Woman Geographers, Bay Area Group Meeting, Belmont Senior Living Town Hall, Albany, California, November 8, 2025

Reviews of Books

Over 230 reviews and discussions of books written by Carolyn Merchant. View complete list.