Darwin-L Message Log 6:63 (February 1994)

Academic Discussion on the History and Theory of the Historical Sciences

This is one message from the Archives of Darwin-L (1993–1997), a professional discussion group on the history and theory of the historical sciences.

Note: Additional publications on evolution and the historical sciences by the Darwin-L list owner are available on SSRN.

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<6:63>From ad201@freenet.carleton.ca  Sat Feb 12 10:09:23 1994

Date: Sat, 12 Feb 1994 11:09:19 -0500
From: ad201@freenet.carleton.ca (Donald Phillipson)
To: darwin-l@ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Popular science and 19th century women

>Peter Stevens (p_stevens@nocmsmgw.harvard.edu) wrote Wed, 9 Feb 1994

>I wonder if "botany" = classification became somewhat trivialised by
>being associated with classification-type studies in the semi-popular
>and popular secondary literature -- and these studies were either
>explicitly for women, or written by women for the education of
>children.  I also wonder what zoological systematists called
>themselves is the nineteenth century.  Darwin and Huxley sometimes

Before investing time in original research, you may find it prudent to
review what had already been published under the rubrics of women's
history (bluestockings 1775-1840, that woman fossil hunter at Lyme
Regis c. 1800 and so on), Victorian non-fiction (Philip Gosse), the
self-education movement (cf. J.A.H. Murray, later the dictionary
writer), migration to the colonies of European science (Susannah
Moodie, Canada, etc.)

You will then need to organize all this, and will probably find Peter
Bowler's Fontana/Norton History of the Environmental Sciences the best
place to start.

--
 |         Donald Phillipson, 4050 Hall's Road, Carlsbad           |
 |      Springs, Ont., Canada K0A 1K0; tel: (613) 822-0734         |
 |  "What I've always liked about science is its independence from |
 |  authority"--Ontario Science Centre (name on file) 10 July 1981 |

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