OOS 3

The ESA at 100: Historical Perspectives on Ecology and Ecological Management

On December 28, 1915, a group of AAAS members voted to form a new society, the Ecological Society of America. One hundred years later, the ESA, an organization of 10,000 members, is celebrating its centennial meeting. This symposium brings together historians of science to discuss the emergence of the discipline of ecology and how ecology has come to shape environmental management in the United States and abroad. Topics will include the history of the ESA, tropical biology, ecological engineering, ecological history, paleoecology, and the rise of ecosystem theory. The goal of the symposium is to relate the inquiries of historians of science to those of practicing ecologists. Its overarching questions include: What can humanistic inquiry tell us about ecology? How do historians and ecologists conceive of causality? How have historians influenced the practices of ecologists, and conversely, how have ecologists influenced the practices of historians? What can the study of past ESA members tell us about ecology’s frontiers?