Department of History

Maximilian Conley

Advisor: Bathsheba Demuth
Research Interests Environmental History & Humanities, Energy History, Whales, 19th Century U.S. Empire, Pacific World, Capitalism, Native American and Indigenous Studies, Disability Justice.

Biography

Max is interested in the environmental history of 19th-century U.S. empire and capitalism, particularly the history of energy and whales in the Pacific Ocean. They are broadly interested in themes and frameworks based in the environmental humanities, eco-Marxism, Native American and Indigenous studies, animal studies, and settler colonial studies. Most recently they have been researching Nantucket’s whaling and sperm whale oil refining industries through the lens of entropy, cetacean cultures, marine environmental history, and New England settler colonialism. As an Autistic scholar, they are also interested in intersections between disability justice and environmental humanities.