Animal history: an interview with Professor Harriet Ritvo

Abstract

It was in the 1980s that a new field in historical studies began to emerge, the animal history, or more specifically the history of human-animal relations. Harriet Ritvo – an eminent American historian and Emeritus Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology – is a pioneer in this field. Her career has been dedicated, among other activities, to researching, writing, teaching and lecturing on the subject. In this interview, Professor Ritvo talks about aspects of her academic trajectory, as well as important features of animal history, such as interactions between this area and other fields in which she also works: environmental history, the history of science and the history of technology.