Wikipedia

Benjamin Breen

Benjamin Breen (born 1985) is an American historian of science and medicine and an Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Cruz.[1] His book The Age of Intoxication (2019) was awarded the 2021 William H. Welch Medal from the American Association for the History of Medicine.[2]

Benjamin Breen
Born1985
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Texas at Austin
Academic work
Main interestsEarly modern history, Portuguese history, History of medicine, Globalization, Science and technology studies
Notable worksThe Age of Intoxication: Origins of the Global Drug Trade (2019)

His second book, Tripping on Utopia: Margaret Mead, the Cold War, and the Troubled Birth of Psychedelic Science,[3] delves into the history of psychedelic science from the 1930s through the 1970s and has garnered critical acclaim. Publications such as The New Yorker,[4] The New York Times,[5] and Publishers Weekly[6] have all provided favorable reviews. In addition, Breen's insights have reached a wider audience through his appearance on NPR's Fresh Air in an interview with Terry Gross.[7]

Education and early career edit

Breen received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Texas at Austin in 2015.[8] His doctoral advisor was Jorge Canizares-Esguerra.[9]

Research and writing edit

Breen’s work centers on the history of globalization and the long-term impacts of technological and environmental change.[1] He has written on early modern globalization;[10] the Portuguese empire;[11] Atlantic history;[12] the early modern drug trade;[13] the history of psychedelics;[14] and the eighteenth-century impostor George Psalmanazar.[10]

Between 2015 and 2017 Breen was a member of the Society of Fellows in the Humanities at Columbia University and a lecturer in Columbia's Department of History.[15]

His writing has appeared in The Atlantic,[16] The Paris Review,[17] Aeon,[18] The Public Domain Review,[19] Lapham’s Quarterly,[20] and Slate[21] and been discussed in The New Yorker,[22][23]The Washington Post,[24] Radio New Zealand,[25] and Le Point.[26]

He was a co-founder and editor of The Appendix[27] and writes the history blog Res Obscura and substack.[28][29]

Fellowships and awards edit

Books edit

  • The Age of Intoxication: Origins of the Global Drug Trade (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019). LCCN 2019-32803 ISBN 978-0-8122-5178-4 hbk; Breen, Benjamin (20 December 2019). 2019 pbk edition. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-9662-4.
  • Tripping on Utopia: Margaret Mead, the Cold War, and the Troubled Birth of Psychedelic Science (Grand Central Publishing, 2024).[33]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "History Faculty Directory". University of California, Santa Cruz. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Welch Medal Winners". American Association for the History of Medicine. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  3. ^ Breen, Benjamin (Jan 16, 2024). Tripping on Utopia: Margaret Mead, the Cold War, and the Troubled Birth of Psychedelic Science. Grand Central Publishing. p. 384. ISBN 9781538722374. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  4. ^ Talbot, Margaret (2024-01-22). "When America First Dropped Acid". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  5. ^ Shane, Charlotte (2024-01-16). "Could LSD Have Achieved World Peace? Ask Margaret Mead". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  6. ^ "Tripping on Utopia: Margaret Mead, the Cold War, and the Troubled Birth of Psychedelic Science by Benjamin Breen". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  7. ^ https://www.npr.org/2024/01/16/1197961744/fresh-air-draft-01-16-2024
  8. ^ "Benjamin Breen wins dissertation award, accepts Assistant Professorship at UC Santa Cruz". Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  9. ^ Cañizares-Esguerra, Jorge. "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Breen, Benjamin (January 2013). "No Man Is an Island: Early Modern Globalization, Knowledge Networks, and George Psalmanazar's Formosa". Journal of Early Modern History. 17 (4): 391–417. doi:10.1163/15700658-12342371.
  11. ^ Breen, Benjamin (2018). "Semedo's sixteen secrets Tracing pharmaceutical networks in the Portuguese tropics". In Findlen, Paula (ed.). Empires of Knowledge: Scientific Networks in the Early Modern World. London: Brill. doi:10.4324/9780429461842-14. ISBN 9780429461842. S2CID 189503189.
  12. ^ Cañizares-Esguerra, Jorge; Breen, Benjamin (August 14, 2013). "Hybrid Atlantics: Future Directions for the History of the Atlantic World". History Compass. 11 (8): 597–609. doi:10.1111/hic3.12051.
  13. ^ Breen, Benjamin (2019). The Age of Intoxication: Origins of the Modern Drug Trade. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0812296624.
  14. ^ Breen, Benjamin (May 10, 2021). "The Failed Globalization of Psychedelic Drugs in the Early Modern World". The Historical Journal. 65: 12–29. doi:10.1017/S0018246X21000224.
  15. ^ "The Society of Fellows in the Humanities Announces its New Fellows for 2015-16". Columbia University. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  16. ^ "All stories by Benjamin Breen". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  17. ^ Breen, Benjamin (October 22, 2014). "Material Objects: Lessons from Rare Book School". The Paris Review Daily.
  18. ^ Breen, Benjamin (April 11, 2014). "Under the Influence". Aeon.
  19. ^ Breen, Benjamin (February 19, 2020). ""Theire Soe Admirable Herbe": How the English Found Cannabis". The Public Domain Review.
  20. ^ Breen, Benjamin (March 15, 2021). "Our Strange Addiction". Lapham's Quarterly.
  21. ^ "Recently by Benjamin Breen". Slate. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  22. ^ Fromson, Daniel (February 14, 2014). ""Weekend Reading: Tunisia's Dying Film Industry, Love and Autism, Famous Meerkats"". The New Yorker.
  23. ^ DenHoed, Andrea (November 1, 2013). ""Weekend Reading: A Close Call with a Serial Killer; "Human Stains"". The New Yorker.
  24. ^ Schwarz, Hunter (May 4, 2015). "The many times Star Wars became a part of American politics". The Washington Post.
  25. ^ "Snail water, beans and pies: tasting 17th century food via art". Radio New Zealand. March 25, 2018.
  26. ^ Beaurepaire-Hernandez, Pierre-Yves (October 14, 2020). "Pourquoi le trafic de drogue ne date pas d'hier" (in French). Le Point.
  27. ^ Sinn, Jessica (May 24, 2013). "The Appendix: Experimental Journal Showcases History of the Arcane". Life and Letters.
  28. ^ ""The Coffee Revolt of 1674"". Open Culture. April 18, 2017.
  29. ^ ""Res Obscura substack"". October 4, 2023.
  30. ^ ""UCSC awarded National Endowment for the Humanities grants to support faculty research"". UC Santa Cruz Newscenter. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  31. ^ "Awarded Fellowships". Huntington Library. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  32. ^ "Fulbright Grantee Directory". Institute of International Education/United States Department of State. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  33. ^ "Tripping on Utopia: Margaret Mead, the Cold War, and the Troubled Birth of Psychedelic Science". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
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