Lukas Rieppel

I am a historian of science, capitalism, and museums. With a technical background in molecular evolution and ecology, my research explores how large-scale social institutions like capitalism and imperialism shape what is known about Earth and its many inhabitants.

I am currently researching the deep history of Lakotan treaty lands. If you would like to learn more,  please check out this co-authored article (with Craig Howe), this profile, or this interview with South Dakota Public Radio.

My book -- Assembling the Dinosaur: Fossil Hunters, Tycoons, and the Making of a Spectacle -- uses dinosaurs to examine how the ideals, norms, and practices of modern capitalism shaped popular science during America's Long Gilded Age. Please check out this short animation based on that project by TED-ed, or this interview with 1A. In addition, I co-edited the 2018  issue of Osiris (with Eugenia Lean & William Deringer) on the theme of "Science & Capitalism: Entangled Histories."

I am working on a number of smaller projects as well. These range from the political history of dragon bones to the organization of a capitalist marketplace. I also maintain an interest in the repatriation of fossils and how imperial naturalists turned Earth, itself, into an object of scientific knowledge. To learn more, please visit the publications page of this site.