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Adrienne’s undergraduate studies in environmental studies and history at Dickinson College and Oregon State University, respectively, sparked her passion for environmental history. After receiving a DAAD scholarship to pursue her MA in Germany, Adrienne landed in Munich where she completed her degree at LMU’s Amerika-Institut. Her thesis, titled “Political Nature: Texas Energy and Winter Storm Uri,” focused on the political and cultural response to the devastating disaster.
Building on this exploration of natural disasters and their impact on American society, culture, and policy, she began her doctoral project on the history of Vanport, Oregon, in January 2024. This work is centered around the history of a city built for the US war effort during the second world war and its destruction following a flood in 1948 but focuses on the broader legacy of Vanport and the people who briefly called it home.
Dissertation Project: Tracing Vanport: Environmental Justice, Displacement, and the Reconstruction of a Lost City