IntroductionThe Women’s Caucus of the History of Science Society (HSS) first compiled a syllabus sampler in 1999 for courses on the history of women and gender in science. In the years since, scholarship and teaching in this field has continued to expand and flourish. The Society’s prize for the best article or book on women or gender in the history of science (given since 1987) was fully endowed largely due to the efforts of the HSS Women’s Caucus. In 2004, the prize was named after pioneering historian of science, Margaret W. Rossiter, and as the quantity and richness of scholarship in this area has grown, it has become one of HSS’s most competitive awards. Institutional transitions made by many college and university departments of “Women’s Studies” to newly-christened departments of “Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies” reflect how the broad scholarly field in which many of our member historians locate their work now foregrounds the intersectionality of race, class, sex, and gender. The increased vibrancy and inclusively of this field has also complicated the prospect of teaching its themes and subjects in our courses, whether those courses are defined chronologically, by discipline, or by special topic.
We hope that this periodically-updated syllabus collection will provide a resource for enhancing or developing courses, units, or modules on women, gender, and sexuality in the history of what contemporary educational policy makers call STEM fields (i.e. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). The initial collection of syllabi presented here were submitted in response to a call for participants in an HSS Women’s Caucus Workshop on this topic (held in at the 2011 Annual Meeting in Cleveland). Workshop participants discussed the diversity of ways in which the study of women and gender can transform the practice and teaching of history, engineering, and science for all students. Whether offered within a General Education course or as an upper-level majors-only elective, the materials presented draw our attention to the heterogeneous disciplinary framework of scholarship and teaching in the field (including historians, sociologists, and philosophers). To reflect ongoing developments in teaching and research, we now update this collection on a rolling basis. Collectively, these syllabi offer a ‘classroom-tested’ set of sources and pedagogical strategies that we hope will inspire and encourage interested scholars and teachers. |
Syllabi
We update this collection on a rolling basis. If you are an HSS member who has created a syllabus, modules, or lesson plans related to women, gender, and/or sexuality in the history of science (construed broadly) please contact one of the Chairs of the Women's Caucus.
Amy Bix, Iowa State University History 607: Gender and the History of Technology (Spring 1999) [.pdf] Angela Creager, Princeton University GSS 393: Seminar on Gender and Science (Fall 2012) [.pdf] Women and Gender Studies 393: Seminar on Gender and Science (Fall 2009) [.pdf] Freshman Seminar 151: To XY and Beyond: Sexual Difference and Sexuality in the History of Science (Fall 2008) [.pdf] Monica Green, Arizona State University History 301: Global History of Health (Fall 2014) [.pdf] History 312: The History of Women in Science and Medicine (Fall 2008) [.pdf] Jane Lehr, California Polytechnic State University Women and Gender Studies 350: Gender, Race, Science and Technology (Fall 2011) [.pdf] M. Susan Lindee, University of Pennsylvania History and Sociology of Science 528: Gender and Technical Knowledge (Spring 2016) [.pdf] Erika Milam, University of Maryland HIS/GSS/HOS 519: Gender and Science (Fall 2016) [.pdf] History 401: Gender and Science (Fall 2011) [.pdf] Georgina Montgomery, Michigan State University History 487: Gender, Sex and Science in Popular Culture (Summer 2012) [.pdf] Lyman Briggs 336: Gender and Evolution (Spring 2011) [.pdf] Donald Opitz, DePaul University Liberal Studies 193: The Science of Sexual Orientation (Fall 2011) [.pdf] LLS 455: Valuing Human Difference (Spring 2011) [.pdf] Karen Rader, Virginia Commonwealth University History 398: History of Women's Health (Fall 2011) [.pdf] Sarah Richardson, Harvard University Culture & Belief 61: Gender and Science: From Marie Curie to Gamergate (Spring 2015) [.pdf] History of Science 138: Sex, Gender, and Evolution (Spring 2011) [.pdf] Banu Subramaniam, University of Massachusetts-Amherst Women’s Studies 290A: Introduction to Biology of Difference (Spring 2011) [.pdf] Arleen Tuchman, Vanderbilt University History 281: Historical Perspectives on Women, Health, and Sexuality (Spring 2010) [.pdf] Jeannette Vaught, University of Texas at Austin American Studies 310: Cyborg Americans: Introduction to American Studies (Fall 2016) [.pdf] Mark Waddell, Michigan State University Lyman Briggs 333: The Historical Relationship of Science and Gender (Fall 2011) [.pdf] 2012 Women’s Caucus Syllabus Sampler [.pdf] Karen Rader (Co-Chair, Women’s Caucus, 2009-2011) Erika Milam (Co-Chair, Women’s Caucus, 2010-2012) Developed in cooperation with the Society for the History of Technology special interest group Women in Technological History (WITH). |
