Carol Rifelj Faculty Lecture Series - Ellery Foutch: "The Art & Science of History Collections at Middlebury College"

Ellery Foutch, Associate Professor of American Studies, and Alexis Mychajliw, Assistant Professor of Biology/Environmental Studies
“The Art and Science of Natural History Collections at Middlebury College”

Middlebury’s Bicentennial Hall is full of wonders. The cabinets and drawers hold specimens collected by Middlebury students and faculty from the earliest days of the College– geological fragments from Lake Dunmore and from remote Austrian villages, pressed plants collected at the side of Snake Mountain in the 1870s, and dozens of birds lovingly preserved with arsenic, mounted on hand-carved bases by two enterprising young men who attended the Addison County Grammar School in the 1880s and corresponded with scientists from the Smithsonian. These preserved specimens and hand-written labels have much to teach us, both about the natural world and about human nature. Their forms help us to understand past methods of teaching and research, while their DNA and collections data yield striking insights into pressing scientific questions about climate change, habitat development, historical migration patterns and population variations, and more. With careful archival research, we can also unearth important human stories behind their collection, preservation, and study - and provide a platform for discussing global environmental issues through the local lens of our Vermont community.