Lukas Rieppel works at the intersection of the history of science and the history of capitalism, focusing especially on the life sciences in 19th and 20th century America. He is currently working on a book (under contract with Harvard University Press) that traces how dinosaurs became a symbol of American economic might and power during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Entitled "Assembling the Dinosaur: Science, Museums, and American Capitalism, 1870-1930," this project uses the history of paleontology as a means to examine how the ideals, norms, and practices of modern capitalism shaped the way scientific knowledge was made, certified, and distributed.
