Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Although women have been central to the study of the natural world at all times and places in history, their stories have been lost, distorted, or actively suppressed. In the ancient and medieval world, women served as royal physicians and nurses, taught mathematics, studied the stars, and practiced midwifery. As natural philosophers, physicists, anatomists, and botanists, women were also central to the great intellectual flourishing of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment.
Spanning the ancient period to the present day, this richly illustrated book seeks to redress the balance, with over 20 essays exploring how women have created space for themselves in science, technology, medicine, mathematics, theology and more.
Including feature biographies on both famous women in the history of science and lesser-known figures, this book investigates the ways that women from different backgrounds and time periods have navigated a male-dominated scientific culture - showing themselves to be pioneers and trailblazers, often without any recognition at all.
Synopsis
Despite great achievements by female scientists, the gender gap in STEM subjects shows no signs of abating and women's contributions to scientific discovery and endeavour continue to be overlooked, their stories lost, distorted, or actively suppressed.
The Women Who Changed Science is the book we need to redress the balance. Spanning the ancient period to the present day, this richly illustrated book seeks to redress the balance, with over 20 essays exploring how women have created space for themselves in science, technology, medicine, mathematics, theology and more. In the ancient and medieval world, women served as royal physicians and nurses, taught mathematics, studied the stars, and practiced midwifery. As natural philosophers, physicists, anatomists, and botanists, women were also central to the great intellectual flourishing of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment.
Including feature biographies on both famous women in the history of science and lesser-known figures, this book investigates the ways that women from different backgrounds and time periods have navigated a male-dominated scientific culture - showing themselves to be pioneers and trailblazers, often without any recognition at all.
Synopsis
From the ancient world to the present women have been critical to the progress of science, yet their importance is overlooked, their stories lost, distorted, or actively suppressed. Forces of Nature sets the record straight and charts the fascinating history of women's discoveries in science. In the ancient and medieval world, women served as royal physicians and nurses,
taught mathematics, studied the stars, and practiced midwifery. As natural philosophers, physicists, anatomists, and botanists, they were central to the great intellectual flourishing of the
Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. More recently women have been crucially involved in the Manhattan Project, pioneering space missions and much more. Despite their record of
illustrious achievements, even today very few women win Nobel Prizes in science.
In this thoroughly researched, authoritative work, you will discover how women have navigated a male-dominated scientific culture - showing themselves to be
pioneers and
trailblazers, often without any recognition at all. Included in the book are the stories of:
- Hypatia of Alexandria, one of the earliest recorded female mathematicians
- Maria Cunitz who corrected errors in Kepler's work
- Emmy Noether who discovered fundamental laws of physics
- Vera Rubin one of the most influential astronomers of the twentieth century
- Jocelyn Bell Burnell who helped discover pulsars