Whose Knowledge?*1 Gender, Education, Science and History

Abstract

What forms of knowledge are deemed worth possessing in any period and who is allowed access to them are crucial questions for the historian of education. Science, now a core subject of study, has long been seen as ‘masculine’, especially at its highest levels, although the historical reasons for this have been somewhat neglected in education. This paper compares and analyses the interrelationships of education, gender and science at both the end of the long eighteenth century and in the early twentieth century in order to explore issues of knowledge and gender and demonstrate the use of a historical perspective * I was very pleased to be asked by the editors to submit a paper to the journal in honour of Joan Simon. I admired Joan for her scholarship, keen intellect and lifelong championship of her principles and I loved her for her warm‐hearted friendship. Joan showed much interest in my research: in particular, she liked my paper on Jane Marcet given at the History of Education conference at Cambridge in honour of Brian Simon. Some years ago she and Brian suggested that I should write a history of science and education, so I should like to dedicate this paper to her. It is based on my inaugural lecture at the University of Birmingham and on my forthcoming book on the social history of women in science, Women in Science: a Social and Cultural History (London, Routledge, 2007). 1 Inspired by Sandra Harding’s title Whose Science? Whose Knowledge? Thinking from Women’s Lives. Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1991.