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Caroline Herschel: agency and self-presentation

2014; Royal Society; Volume: 69; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1098/rsnr.2014.0060

1743-0178

Emily Winterburn,

History of Science and Natural History

Caroline Herschel was rare among her female contemporaries in gaining public recognition for her work in science, yet her role in this process and her role in designing her training have never previously been studied. We know that access to education and participation in science was different for men and women in the eighteenth century. However, drawing on feminist, pedagogical and biographical approaches to history, I argue that although access depended on a variety of factors, a more consistent gender divide came in lessons on how to learn, and in what was regarded as appropriate behaviour. Caroline's skill—so often misunderstood—was to be aware of the differences and to use them to her own advantage.