Elaine Ayers
@eayers0.bsky.social
Historian of science, collecting, plants + museums // Professor at Yale // PhD in History of Science from Princeton // Contr. Ed. at Public Domain Review // elaineayers.com
Franklin was extra good this week so on top of his morning hikes I made him a mini dog-safe chicken pot pie and now he has a new favorite food.
November 8, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Franklin was extra good this week so on top of his morning hikes I made him a mini dog-safe chicken pot pie and now he has a new favorite food.
Dream postdoc just dropped. One-year postdoc ($70K) at Yale's @yalewhc.bsky.social for the Franke Seminar in the Humanities on the incredible theme of ROT: Politics, Aesthetics, Regeneration. Taking folks from #histSTM, food studies, environmental humanities, etc. App due 12/8.
November 7, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Dream postdoc just dropped. One-year postdoc ($70K) at Yale's @yalewhc.bsky.social for the Franke Seminar in the Humanities on the incredible theme of ROT: Politics, Aesthetics, Regeneration. Taking folks from #histSTM, food studies, environmental humanities, etc. App due 12/8.
Franklin loves fall - cooler temps, still warm enough for swimming, 🐿️ + 🍂 to chase, downed sticks from the nor’easter, a warm lap to dry off + snooze in.
October 19, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Franklin loves fall - cooler temps, still warm enough for swimming, 🐿️ + 🍂 to chase, downed sticks from the nor’easter, a warm lap to dry off + snooze in.
And a beautiful + productive October break trip to @nybg.bsky.social to do some work on bryophytic history with Laura Briscoe + Enrique Ramirez - me coming out on this very soon.
October 18, 2025 at 3:05 PM
And a beautiful + productive October break trip to @nybg.bsky.social to do some work on bryophytic history with Laura Briscoe + Enrique Ramirez - me coming out on this very soon.
Behind on posting about the weekly discussions + days in collections we’ve been having in my seminars, including another lovely visit to vertebrate paleontology to think through evolution + extinction.
October 18, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Behind on posting about the weekly discussions + days in collections we’ve been having in my seminars, including another lovely visit to vertebrate paleontology to think through evolution + extinction.
Thurs at 4PM, the inimitable @artcrimeprof.bsky.social is talking about "The Battle Over America's Monuments + Heroes" as part of the prestigious Poynter Fellowship in Journalism. I'm teaching during her talk, but my students are going + I'm so happy to see her on campus!
September 29, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Thurs at 4PM, the inimitable @artcrimeprof.bsky.social is talking about "The Battle Over America's Monuments + Heroes" as part of the prestigious Poynter Fellowship in Journalism. I'm teaching during her talk, but my students are going + I'm so happy to see her on campus!
I'm also speaking about my in progress writing / book project - "Entangled Organisms: Classificatory Challenges & Ecological Objects in Natural History Collections" at the @yalewhc.bsky.social fellows' lunch this Weds; looking forward to feedback from the other fellows + visitors!
September 29, 2025 at 9:15 PM
I'm also speaking about my in progress writing / book project - "Entangled Organisms: Classificatory Challenges & Ecological Objects in Natural History Collections" at the @yalewhc.bsky.social fellows' lunch this Weds; looking forward to feedback from the other fellows + visitors!
I'll be speaking at the Plants on Paper exhibit opening reception on Oct. 3 from 3-5PM - let me know if you'd like an invite! We'll look at some gorgeous botanical illustrations, herbarium specimens, cyanotypes, and other 19thC plant-based objects, many of them produced by women. 🌸
September 17, 2025 at 3:54 PM
I'll be speaking at the Plants on Paper exhibit opening reception on Oct. 3 from 3-5PM - let me know if you'd like an invite! We'll look at some gorgeous botanical illustrations, herbarium specimens, cyanotypes, and other 19thC plant-based objects, many of them produced by women. 🌸
And if you're in the area, check out the exhibit Plants on Paper: Artists' Engagement with the Green World at Yale's Arts Library, which is beautiful and rich (checklist + bibliography linked on the website). Open until 11/2.
guides.library.yale.edu/artsAreaExhi...
guides.library.yale.edu/artsAreaExhi...
September 17, 2025 at 3:51 PM
And if you're in the area, check out the exhibit Plants on Paper: Artists' Engagement with the Green World at Yale's Arts Library, which is beautiful and rich (checklist + bibliography linked on the website). Open until 11/2.
guides.library.yale.edu/artsAreaExhi...
guides.library.yale.edu/artsAreaExhi...
So many good events on campus, starting with today's 4PM talk by Sarah Bilston on her gorgeous new book "The Lost Orchid," which I had the pleasure of reviewing this summer (forthcoming). One of the better books I've read in a while. #histsci
environmentalhumanities.yale.edu/event/sarah-...
environmentalhumanities.yale.edu/event/sarah-...
September 17, 2025 at 3:47 PM
So many good events on campus, starting with today's 4PM talk by Sarah Bilston on her gorgeous new book "The Lost Orchid," which I had the pleasure of reviewing this summer (forthcoming). One of the better books I've read in a while. #histsci
environmentalhumanities.yale.edu/event/sarah-...
environmentalhumanities.yale.edu/event/sarah-...
Starting out a long week with a little hike, swim, stick chasing + mushroom finding with Franklin. Now he’s sitting next to me while I write + prep for meetings. 🍄
September 15, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Starting out a long week with a little hike, swim, stick chasing + mushroom finding with Franklin. Now he’s sitting next to me while I write + prep for meetings. 🍄
10/7 event coming up at Yale: a conversation with author Susannah Cahalan "about key features of psychedelic history with a focus on women’s perspectives of the time, and on the ways in which psychedelic history influences our understanding of the current state of psychedelic science, and more."
September 12, 2025 at 8:16 PM
10/7 event coming up at Yale: a conversation with author Susannah Cahalan "about key features of psychedelic history with a focus on women’s perspectives of the time, and on the ways in which psychedelic history influences our understanding of the current state of psychedelic science, and more."
It's also our first @yalewhc.bsky.social fellows lunch of the year - excited to be a WHC fellow alongside friends + scholars like @ceaubin.bsky.social (of @thisguysucked.com), Anthony Acciavatti, Tim Barringer, Omnia El Shakry, and so many more.
whc.yale.edu/people/fello...
whc.yale.edu/people/fello...
September 10, 2025 at 11:40 AM
It's also our first @yalewhc.bsky.social fellows lunch of the year - excited to be a WHC fellow alongside friends + scholars like @ceaubin.bsky.social (of @thisguysucked.com), Anthony Acciavatti, Tim Barringer, Omnia El Shakry, and so many more.
whc.yale.edu/people/fello...
whc.yale.edu/people/fello...
World's longest day today, but over the next couple of classes I'm teaching my fav subject - taxonomy, order + "information overload," in which species confound, language is deeply political, and classification is far from stable or agreed upon. So many fun, hard-hitting readings + exercises.
September 10, 2025 at 11:26 AM
World's longest day today, but over the next couple of classes I'm teaching my fav subject - taxonomy, order + "information overload," in which species confound, language is deeply political, and classification is far from stable or agreed upon. So many fun, hard-hitting readings + exercises.
And a 2-year Mellon Postdoc in STS at Cornell, esp 1900-present, $64K, app due Jan 15. #histsci #philsci #histSTM
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30301
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30301
September 1, 2025 at 6:24 PM
And a 2-year Mellon Postdoc in STS at Cornell, esp 1900-present, $64K, app due Jan 15. #histsci #philsci #histSTM
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30301
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30301
Anyway, this semester I'm teaching two seminars - "Museums: Power & Politics" + "Unnatural History: Colonialism + Inequality in the Making of Nature"...let me know if you want a copy of either syllabus.
August 20, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Anyway, this semester I'm teaching two seminars - "Museums: Power & Politics" + "Unnatural History: Colonialism + Inequality in the Making of Nature"...let me know if you want a copy of either syllabus.
Beautiful day at the Smith Botanical Garden - one of the best university gardens I’ve ever seen - looking at baby Amorphophallus plants, plotting away for an article.
August 2, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Beautiful day at the Smith Botanical Garden - one of the best university gardens I’ve ever seen - looking at baby Amorphophallus plants, plotting away for an article.
The constant onslaught of news is depressing, so here are some photos of Franklin in his favorite bandana in honor of just having completed the annual pet screening I have to do for my building that for some reason takes like, a full hour of incessant clicking.
July 31, 2025 at 3:27 PM
The constant onslaught of news is depressing, so here are some photos of Franklin in his favorite bandana in honor of just having completed the annual pet screening I have to do for my building that for some reason takes like, a full hour of incessant clicking.
And a quick trip to the Museo de la Historia Natural, which was sadly under construction but gorgeous nonetheless 🦕
July 27, 2025 at 4:34 PM
And a quick trip to the Museo de la Historia Natural, which was sadly under construction but gorgeous nonetheless 🦕
I love a rocky, wild beach where you can hide, and Porto really delivered 🌊
July 27, 2025 at 4:31 PM
I love a rocky, wild beach where you can hide, and Porto really delivered 🌊
Hey #ISHPSSB2025 folks - come through Anf 6 at 9AM for our panel on museums + scientific expeditions, where I'll be speaking about the corpse flower, nationalist competition, and the politics of loss \ discovery. With Paul Brinkman, Cathryn Newton + Matt James!
July 23, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Hey #ISHPSSB2025 folks - come through Anf 6 at 9AM for our panel on museums + scientific expeditions, where I'll be speaking about the corpse flower, nationalist competition, and the politics of loss \ discovery. With Paul Brinkman, Cathryn Newton + Matt James!
Beautiful afternoon in Porto for #ISHPSSB2025 listening to Yale HSHM grad student Caitlin Kossmann speak about Lynn Margulis as a rebel educator, community builder + public scientist. Love to see Yale represent!
July 22, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Beautiful afternoon in Porto for #ISHPSSB2025 listening to Yale HSHM grad student Caitlin Kossmann speak about Lynn Margulis as a rebel educator, community builder + public scientist. Love to see Yale represent!
Some new-ish research feat Richard Evans Schultes, reveling in the wide ranging time periods + fields my work has been taking me this year. Will I finish anything? TBD
July 2, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Some new-ish research feat Richard Evans Schultes, reveling in the wide ranging time periods + fields my work has been taking me this year. Will I finish anything? TBD
Summer in Connecticut: lots of hiking + swimming early in the morning before the heat hits, lots of tick checks.
June 29, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Summer in Connecticut: lots of hiking + swimming early in the morning before the heat hits, lots of tick checks.
Straight back to work - today I'm giving a talk at the Rare Books + Manuscript Section conference at Yale (1:30PM, Omno Hotel Temple Room) on Lindley's Daughters: Plant Taxonomy + Gendered Labor in the 19thC on the panel Pressing Matters. Let me know if you're in town! 📚🌿🎨
June 25, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Straight back to work - today I'm giving a talk at the Rare Books + Manuscript Section conference at Yale (1:30PM, Omno Hotel Temple Room) on Lindley's Daughters: Plant Taxonomy + Gendered Labor in the 19thC on the panel Pressing Matters. Let me know if you're in town! 📚🌿🎨