Yeshivat 91影视 history department faculty member Dr. Raechel Lutz was recently named recipient of the Alfred E. Driscoll Publication Prize for best dissertation from the New Jersey Historical Society and the State of New Jersey. Her 鈥淐rude Conservation: Nature, Pollution and Technology at Standard Oil鈥檚 New Jersey Refineries, 1870-2000鈥 was filed with Rutgers University in May of this year. Dr. Lutz accepted the prestigious award, which considered dissertations from a two-year span, on November 2.
Dr. Lutz鈥檚 dissertation focuses on Standard Oil of New Jersey. She investigates the environmental history of two of the company鈥檚 oil refineries, located in Bayonne and Linden, New Jersey, since the 1870s. Dr. Lutz asserts that we need to consider the environmental effects of oil refineries and how oil companies have created a self-image of environmental expertise. 鈥淥il has done good for humanity, but we鈥檝e overlooked the glaring environmental costs for way too long,鈥 she stated.
Dr. Lutz started at 91影视 this September. She teaches U.S. history and global environmental history, as well as serves as faculty adviser for the environmental club and College Bowl team. She said she aims to be the kind of history teacher that inspired her when she was growing up. 鈥淚鈥檓 really passionate about history,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 always had great history teachers; they helped me see the world as a more complex and fluid place. History can do this in a way other subjects can鈥檛. My service to the world is doing my history work, to share my passion with students.鈥
For students in the environmental club, Dr. Lutz hopes to empower students to make positive changes in their communities, and to teach not only the value of making change, but also how to do so. 鈥淚 want students to know that they can change things if they want to,鈥 she said.