Rebecca Herzig is an American scholar, writer, and professor specializing in gender and sexuality studies, science and technology studies (STS), and American cultural history. She is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, where she also serves as chair of the Gender and Sexuality Studies program.
Education and Career
Herzig earned her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society (1998). She joined the faculty at Bates College, where she has taught courses in Africana studies, American studies, digital and computational studies, environmental studies, gender and sexuality studies, and history.
Scholarship
Herzig is the author or editor of several books:
- Suffering for Science: Reason and Sacrifice in Modern America (Rutgers University Press, 2005) — Examines the historical emergence of an ethic of self-sacrifice in American science between the Civil War and World War I, exploring how scientists framed their work in terms of suffering, enslavement, and martyrdom.
- Plucked: A History of Hair Removal (NYU Press, 2015) — A cultural history of hair removal practices in the United States, examining the intersections of race, gender, class, and commerce. It was named a "Best Book of the Year" by The Economist and by the Science Friday national radio program.
- The Nature of Difference: Sciences of Race in the United States from Jefferson to Genomics (MIT Press, 2009) — Co-edited with Evelynn Hammonds, this volume traces the scientific study of race in America from the 18th century to the genomic era.
- Feminist Technosciences (University of Washington Press) — Co-edited with Banu Subramaniam, part of a book series of the same name.
Her writing has appeared in journals such as Science, The Lancet, American Quarterly, Journal of Social History, Feminist Studies, boundary 2, and Radical History Review.
Professional Service and Recognition
Herzig has served on the executive councils of the Society for the Social Studies of Science (4S), the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT), and the International Committee for the History of Technology (ICOHTEC). Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She has received MIT's Kristen E. Finnegan Prize and Bates College's Kroepsch Award for teaching excellence.
She is a frequent media commentator and has appeared on programs including Adam Ruins Everything and various public radio outlets.
