Department of History

At the intersection of environmental history, science and technology studies, and sensory history, Max's research focuses on the history of ocean environments, underwater sound, and relationships between humans, whales, and dolphins over the past two centuries, particularly in the United States. Their dissertation - "Oceanic Listening: Sound, Cetaceans, and the History of Sensory Environments" - places sound at the center of human-cetacean history and places sensory experience at the center of how past environments have been embodied and known by animal subjects both human and nonhuman. Their work has been published in Environmental History and Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences. In their research and teaching, they are also interested in disability history and the history of U.S. imperialism more broadly.