The Women Who Popularized Geology in the 19th Century [Hardcover]

The female authors highlighted in this monograph represent a special breed of science writer, women who not only synthesized the science of their day (often drawing upon their own direct experience in the laboratory, field, classroom, and/or public lecture hall), but used their works to simultaneously educate, entertain, and, in many cases, evangelize. Women played a central role in the popularization of science in the 19th century, as penning such works (written for an audience of other women and children) was considered proper women's work. Many of these writers excelled in a particular literary technique known as the familiar format, in which science is described in the form of a conversation between characters, especially women and children. However, the biological sciences were considered more feminine than the natural sciences (such as astronomy and physics), hence the number of geological conversations was limited. This, in turn, makes the few that were completed all the more crucial to analyze.

The Status of the Geological Sciences Circa 1800.- The Popularization of Science.- Jane Haldimand Marcet (1769  1858): The Queen of the Familiar Format.- Maria Hack (1777  1844): Contrivance and Conversation.- Jane Kilby Welsh (1783  1853): Faith and Family.- Delvalle Lowry (1800  59): Apprentice and Author.- Delia Woodruff Godding (1812  61): Poetry and Perseverance.- Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps (1793  1884): Textbooks and the Female Seminary.- Alternatives to the Familiar Format.- The Extinction of the Familiar Format.

In this richly referenced book on female science writers in the 19th century, Larsen (Central Connecticut State Univ.) provides information on popular science writing in general while specifically focusing on books written by women. & This volume focuses specifically on subjects less acceptable for study by women: geology, mineralogy, and chemistry. & Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty anl.