Michael R. Dietrich

Publications

In Progress

Richard Goldschmidt's Heresies: A Biography of a Bad Reputation (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, Under Contract).

Michael R. Dietrich, Roberta Millstein, and Robert A. Skipper, Jr., Survival of the Luckiest: Perspectives on Random Drift in Evolutionary Biology (In Preparation for submission).

2021

Michael R. Dietrich, "Richard Lewontin (1929-2021)," Nature. (2021).

Michael R. Dietrich, Oren Harman, and Ehud Lamm, "Richard Lewontin and the "Complications of Linkage"," Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. 88 (2021), 237-244.

Nature Remade: Engineering Life, Envisioning Worlds. Luis Campos, Michael R. Dietrich, Tiago Saraiva, Chris Young, editors. (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2021).

Handbook of the Historiography of Biology, Michael R. Dietrich, Mark Borrello, and Oren Harman, Eds. (Dordrecht: Springer, 2021).

2020

Michael R. Dietrich, Nathan Crowe, and Rachel Ankeny, "Why Study Sex by the Sea?: Marine Organisms and the Problems of Fertilization and Cell Cleavage," in Why Study Biology by the Sea?. Jane Maienschein, Karl Matlin, and Rachel Ankeny, Eds. (University of Chicago Press, 2020), 271-296.

“What is the nature of scientific controversies in the biological sciences?,” Philosophy of Science  for Biologists.  Kostas Komparakis and Tobias Uller, Editors.  (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020), 235-254.

Michael R. Dietrich, Rachel Ankeny, Nathan Crowe, Sara Green, and Sabina Leonelli, “How to Choose Your Research Organism,” Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences80 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2019.101227

Michael R. Dietrich and Phillip Honenberger, "Duhem's Problem Revisited: Logical versus Epistemic Formulations and Solutions," Synthese 197 (2020): 337-354.

“The Johannes Holtfreter Papers at the Marine Biological Laboratory,” The Mendel Newsletter 22 (2020), 12-16.

Book Review, "Samanth Subramanian, A Dominant Character: The Radical Science and Restless Politics of J.B.S. Haldane," American Scientist (Nov-Dec 2020), 378-379.

2019

Scott Dietrich and Michael R. Dietrich, "Ernest 'Chinese' Wilson's Re-imagined Legacy in Sichuan," Trans-Asian Photography Review 9 (2019). http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.7977573.0009.209

Roberta Millstein, Michael R. Dietrich, and Robert Skipper, Jr., "The History of Evolutionary Thought Since 1930," Oxford Bibliographies: Evolutionary Biology (2019).

2018

Sara Green, Michael R. Dietrich, Sabina Leonelli, and Rachel A. Ankeny,"'Extreme' Organisms and the Problem of Generalization: Interpreting the Krogh Principle," History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences (2018) 40: 65.

"Sewall Wright," Brenner's Encyclopedia of Genetics, 3rd edition. Elsevier, 2018.

Michael R. Dietrich and Scott Dietrich, "Ernest Henry Wilson: Plant Collector, Explorer, Photographer," Pleasure Garden Magazine (Autumn 2018), 18-21.

Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich, Editors. Dreamers, Visionaries, and Revolutionaries in the Life Sciences (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2018).

Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich, "Perchance to Dream: Fostering Novelty in the Life Sciences," in Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich, Editors. Dreamers, Visionaries, and Revolutionaries in the Life Sciences (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2018).

Michael R. Dietrich and Laura L. Lovett, "From New Alchemy To Living Machines: John Todd's Dreams of Ecological Engineering," in Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich, Editors. Dreamers, Visionaries, and Revolutionaries in the Life Sciences (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2018).

2017

Book Review, "Mario A. Fares, Ed., Natural Selection: Methods and Applications," The Quarterly Review of Biology 92 (2017), 468.

Book Review, "Nick Hopwood, Haeckel's Embryos: Images, Evolution, and Fraud,"”" The English Historical Review 132 (2017), 246-247.

"Looking Toward the Next Fifty years at the Journal of the History of Biology ," Journal of the History of Biology 50 (2017), 689-690.

Book Review, "Nick Hopwood, Haeckel's Embryos: Images, Evolution, and Fraud," English Historical Review 132 (2017), 426-427.

"The First Everett Mendelsohn Prize," Journal of the History of Biology 50 (2017), 3-4.

"The Journal of the History of Biology at 50," Journal of the History of Biology 50 (2017), 1-2.

2016

"Parsing Postgenomics," Studies in the History and Philosophy of the Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 59 ( 2016), 158-160.

Michael R. Dietrich and Edna Suarez-Diaz, "History of Molecular Evolution," in Richard Kliman, Ed., Encyclopedia of Evolution, Volume 3 (Oxford: Academic Press, 2016), 55-60.

"Inaugurating the Everett Mendelsohn Prize," Journal of the History of Biology 49 (2016), 1-2.

"Introduction: Revisiting Garland Allen's Views on the History of the Life Sciences in the Twentieth Century," Journal of the History of Biology 49 (2016), 1-2.

“Experimenting with Sex: Four Approaches to the Genetics of Sex Reversal before 1950,”  History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 38 (2016), 23-41.

2015

Nathan Crowe, Michael R. Dietrich, Beverly Alomepe, Amelia Antrim, Bay Lauris ByrneSim, and Yi He, "The Diversification of Developmental Biology," Studies in the History and Philosophy of the Biological and Biomedical Sciences 52 (2015), 1-15.

"Explaining the "Pulse of Protoplasm": The Search for Molecular Mechanisms of Protoplasmic Streaming," Journal of Integrative Plant Biology 57 (2015): 14-22.

2014

Michael R. Dietrich, Rachel Ankeny, Patrick Chen, "Publication Trends in Model Organism Research, " Genetics 198 (2014), 787-794. [PDF]

Book Review, "Susanne Heim, Carola Sasche, and Mark Wlker, Editors, The Kaiser Wilhelm Society under National Socialism," Central European History 47 (2014): 448-450. [LINK]

2013

Outsider Scientists: Routes to Innovation in Biology. Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich, Editors (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013). [LINK]

Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich, "Outsiders as Innovators in the Biological Sciences," in Outsider Scientists: Routes to Innovation in Biology, Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich, Editors. (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2013), 1-23.

Michael R. Dietrich and Robert A. Skipper, Jr., "R. A. Fisher and the Foundations of Statistical Biology," in Outsider Scientists: Routes to Innovation in Biology. Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich, Editors (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2013), 147-160.

"Molecular Evolution" in The Philosophy of Biology: A Companion for Educators. Kostas Kampourakis, Editor, (Dordrecht: Springer Verlag, 2013), 239-248. [LINK]

2012
The Educated Eye: Visual Culture and Pedagogy in the Life Sciences. Nancy Anderson and Michael R. Dietrich, Editors. (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2012). [LINK]

Nancy Anderson and Michael R. Dietrich, "Visual Lessons and the Life Sciences ," The Educated Eye: Visual Culture and Pedagogy in the Life Sciences, Nancy Anderson and Michael R. Dietrich, Editors. (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2012), 1-13.

Robert A. Skipper, Jr. and Michael R. Dietrich, "Sewall Wright's Adaptive Landscape: Philosophical Reflections on Heuristic Value," in The Adaptive Landscape in Evolutionary Biology, Erik Svensson & Ryan Calsbeek, Editors. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 3-15. [LINK]

Michael R. Dietrich and Robert A. Skipper, Jr., "A Shifting Terrain: A Brief History of the Adaptive Landscape," in The Adaptive Landscape in Evolutionary Biology, Erik Svensson & Ryan Calsbeek, Editors. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 16-25. [LINK]

"Editorial Introdcution," Journal of the History of Biology 45 (2012), 1.

Book Review, "Manfred Laubichler and Gerd B. Mueller, Editors, Modeling Biology: Structures, Behaviors, Evolution," History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 34 (2012), 503-504.

2011
"Reinventing Richard Goldschmidt: Reputation, Memory, and Biography," Journal of the History of Biology 44(2011), 693-712.

2010
Book Review, "Beyond The Double Helix: A Review of Robert Olby's Francis Crick: Hunter of Life's Secrets," The Mendel Newsletter 18 (2010), 22-24. [LINK]

Book Review, "Philip Thurtle, The Emergence of Genetic Rationality," Journal of the History of Biology 43 (2010), 621-622.

2009
Roberta L. Millstein, Robert A. Skipper, Jr., and Michael R. Dietrich, "(Mis)interpreting Mathematical Models of Drift: Drift as a Physical Process," Philosophy and Theory in Biology 1:e002 (2009), 1-13. [LINK]

"Microevolution and Macroevolution Are Governed by the Same Processes" in Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Biology. Francisco J. Ayala and Robert Arp, Editors. (Blackwell Publishing, 2009), 169-179.

Kevin J. Peterson, Michael R. Dietrich, and Mark A. McPeek, "miRNAs and Metazoan Macroevolution: Insights into Canalization, Complexity, and the Cambrian Explosion," Bioessays 31 (2009), 736-747.

Gregory K. Davis, Michael R. Dietrich, and David Jacobs, "Homeotic Mutants and the Assimilation of Developmental Genetics into the Evolutionary Synthesis," in Joe Cain and Michael Ruse, Eds., Descended from Darwin: Insights into American Evolutionary Studies, 1900-1970 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, volume 99, part 1, 2009), pp. 133-154.

"The Genetic Basis of Evolutionary Change," Evolution: The First Four Billion Years. Michael Ruse and Joe Travis, Eds., (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009), pp. 602-603.

Book Review, "The Rise of the Classical Gene: Review of James Schwartz' In Pursuit of the Gene," Evolution and Development 11 (2009), 326-327.

Book Review, "Frederick Grinnell, Everyday Practice of Science: Where Intuition and passion Meet Objectivity and Logic," The Quarterly Review of Biology 84 (2009), 278.

2008
Rebels, Mavericks, and Heretics in Biology. Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich,Editors. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008).

Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich, "On Rebels, Icons, and the Value of Dissent" in Rebels, Mavericks, and Heretics in Biology. Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich, Editors. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008), pp. 1-19.

"Striking the Hornet's Nest: Richard Goldschmidt's Rejection of the Particulate Gene" in Rebels, Mavericks, and Heretics in Biology. Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich, Editors. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008), pp. 119-136.

Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich, "Dynamic Dissent: Iconoclasts, both visionary and misguided, have advanced modern biology," The Chronicle Review 54 (July 11, 2008), B7-8.

Michael R. Dietrich and Roberta Millstein, "The Role of Causal Processes in the Neutral and Nearly Neutral Theories," Philosophy of Science 75 (2008), 548-559. [PDF]

"Genetics," in Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World, Peter Stearns, Ed. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2008).

"Molecular Evolution," in A Companion to Philosophy of Biology, Sohotra Sarkar and Anya Plutynski, Eds. (Blackwell, 2008).

Book Review, "Francisco Ayala, Darwin's Gift to Science and Religion," National Center for Science Education Newsletter 28 (2008), 33-34.

2007
Michael R. Dietrich and Robert Skipper, "Manipulating Underdetermination in Scientific Controversy: The Case of the Molecular Clock," Perspectives on Science 15 (2007), 295-326.

Michael R. Dietrich and Brandi H. Tambasco, "Beyond the Boss and the Boys: Women in Drosophila Genetics in the United States, 19341970," Journal of the History of Biology (2007), 509-528.

"Representando el objeto de la controversia. El caso del reloj molecular (Representing the Object of Controversy: The Case of the Molecular Clock)," Variedad Sin Limites: Las Representaciones en la Ciencia, Edna Suarez, Ed. (Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) y Editorial Limusa, S . A. de C. V., 2007), 351-366.

Reprinted. "Representing the Object of Controversy: The Case of the Molecular Clock," History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 29 (2007), 23-38.

"A Just-So Story for Symbolic Thought?," in Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Ed., Moral Psychology, Volume 1: The Evolution of Moralty (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007), 299-301.

"Johannes Holtfreter," The New Dictionary of Scientific Biography (New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2007).

Michael R. Dietrich and James F. Crow, "Motoo Kimura," The New Dictionary of Scientific Biography (New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2007).

2006
"Three Perspectives on Neutrality and Drift in Molecular Evolution," Philosophy of Science 73 (2006), 666-677.[PDF]

Sandra Mitchell and Michael R. Dietrich, "Integration without Unification: An Argument for Pluralism in the Biological Sciences," The American Naturalist 168 (2006), S73-S79.[PDF]

"From Mendel to Molecules: A Brief History of Evolutionary Genetics,"in Evolutionary Genetics: Concepts and Case Studies. Charles W. Fox and Jason B. Wolf, Eds. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2006), 3-13.[PDF]

Book Review, "William Bechtel, Discovering Cell Mechanisms: The Creation of Modern Cell Biology," Quarterly Review of Biology 81 (2006), 392.

Book Review, "Susan Lindee, Moments of Truth in Genetic Medicine," New England Journal of Medicine 354 (2006) 1965.[PDF]

"The History of Genetics Online," The Mendel Newsletter 15 (2006), 27-30.

Book Review, "Soraya de Chadarevian and Nick Hopwood, Eds., Models: The Third Dimension of Science," Journal of the History of Biology 39 (2006) 224-6.

2005
"Two Men Who Invented Genetics: Essay Review of Oren Harman, The Man Who Invented Chromosomes: The Life of Cyril Darlington and Paul Berg and Maxine Singer, George Beadle: An Uncommon Farmer," Minerva 43 (2005), 429 - 433.

"Foundations of Genetics at the Electronic Scholarly Publishing Project," The Mendel Newsletter 13 (2005), 9.

Book review, "David Rothenberg and Wandee J. Pryor, Eds., Writing the Future: Progress and Evolution," Quarterly Review of Biology 80 (2005), 119.

2004
Book review, "Elof Axel Carlson, Mendel's Legacy: The Origins of Classical Genetics," Journal of the History of Biology 37 (2004) 590-591.

Book review, "Leah Ceccarelli, Shaping Science with Rhetoric: The Cases of Dobzhansky, Schrodinger, and Wilson," Isis 95 (2004) 470.

Book review, "Jody Hey, Genes, Categories, and Species: The Evolutionary and Cognitive Causes of the Species Problem," Philosophy of Science 71 (2004) 619-620.

Book review, "Jan Sapp, Genesis: The Evolution of Biology," Quarterly Review of Biology 79 (2004): 305.

Book review, "The Postgenomic Shipwright: Antoine Danchin's The Delphic Boat: What Genomes Tell Us," Nature Genetics, 36 (2004), 318.

Book review, "Lewis I. Held, Jr., Imaginal Discs: The Genetic and Cellular Logic of Pattern Formation," The Mendel Newsletter 13 (2004), 19.

2003
"Richard Goldschmidt: Hopeful Monsters and Other "Heresies"," Nature Reviews Genetics 4 (2003), 68-74.

2002
"History of the Nature of the Gene," Genetics. Richard Robinson, Ed. (New York, NY: Macmillan Reference, 2002).

Marsha L. Richmond and Michael R. Dietrich, "Richard Goldschmidt and the Crossing-Over Controversy, " Genetics 161 (2002), 477-482.

Book review, "Embryology in Wax: Nick Hopwood's Embryos in Wax," Trends in Genetics 18 (2002) 658.

2001
"Online History: The History of Recent Science and TechnologyProject," Recent Science Newsletter 3 (2001), 9.

Michael R. Dietrich, C. Robertson McClung, and Mark McPeek, "Darwinian Evolution Across the Disciplines," History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 23 (2001), 337-338.

Book review, "Jennifer Terry, An American Obsession: Science, Medicine and Homosexuality in Modern Society," History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 22 (2001), 224-225.

2000
"Of Moths and Men: Theo Lang and the Persistence of Richard Goldschmidt's Theory of the Genetics of Homosexuality, 1916-1960," History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 22 (2000), 219-247.

"The Problem of the Gene," Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences de Paris 323 (2000), 1139-1146

"From Hopeful Monsters to Homeotic Effects: Richard Goldschmidt's Integration of Development, Evolution, and Genetics," American Zoologist 40 (2000), 28-37.

"From Gene to Genetic Hierarchy: Richard Goldschmidt and the Problem of the Gene," The Concept of the Gene in Development and Evolution: Historical and Epistemological Perspectives. Peter Beurton, Raphael Falk, and Hans-Joerg Rheinberger, eds. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), pp. 91-114.

Book review, "R. J. Russell, W. R. Stoeger, S.J., and F. J. Ayala (eds.), Evolutionary and Molecular Biology: Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action," History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 22 (2000), 126-127.

1998
"The Richard Benedict Goldschmidt Papers," The Mendel Newsletter, New Series 7 (1998), pp. 13-15.

"Molecular Biology," Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Volume 6. Edward Craig, Ed. (London: Routledge, 1998), pp. 458-461.

"Paradox and Persuasion: Negotiating the Place of Molecular Evolution Within Evolutionary Biology," Journal of the History of Biology 31 (1998), 85-111.

Book review, "V. B. Smocovitis, Unifying Biology: The Evolutionary Synthesis and Evolutionary Biology," Journal of the History of Biology 31 (1998): 289-291.

Book review, "V. Orel, Gregor Mendel: The First Geneticist," Isis 89 (1998): 143-144.

1997
Book review, "Anne Harrington, Re-Enchanted Science," Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences 27 (1997): 359.

1996
"On the Mutability of Genes and Geneticists: The "Americanization" of Richard Goldschmidt and Victor Jollos," Perspectives on Science 4 (1996), 321-345.

"Monte Carlo Experiments and the Defense of Diffusion Models in Molecular Population Genetics," Biology and Philosopy 11 (1996), 339-356.

1995
"Richard Goldschmidt's "Heresies" and the Evolutionary Synthesis," Journal of the History of Biology, 28 (1995), 431-461.

1994
"The Origins of the Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution," Journal of the History of Biology, 27 (1994), 21-59.

Book review, "Elliot Sober, Philosophy of Biology," Teaching Philosophy 17 (1994): 375-377.

1993
"Underdetermination and the Limits of Interpretative Flexibility," Perspectives on Science, 1 (1993), 109-126.

1992
"Macromutation," in Keywords in Evolutionary Biology, E. F. Keller and E. A. Lloyd, eds. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1992), pp. 194-201.