Annamaria Haden is a PhD student studying the environmental, agricultural, and animal history of the American South. Her master’s thesis, titled “Atomic Cows: The Alamogordo Herd at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 1945-1965,” examines the place of animals in nuclear research. Her thesis tells the story of the atomic bomb’s first animal victims within the context of post-World War II America, where rising atomic anxieties, narratives of control over the non-human world, vulnerabilities to industrial agriculture, “Atoms for Peace” movements, and civil defense efforts were remaking society. Annamaria’s thesis demonstrates the centrality of animals in human history. Her work engages with scholarship on agricultural, Cold War, and nuclear energy history.

Research Interests: Environmental, Agricultural, and Animal History of the American South