One of the many benefits of the 'Picture a Scientist' activity you did in our earlier "Nature of Science" assignment (HW #2) is that it can be very revealing about our unstated biases, and not just about gender roles! It also can illuminate a bit about stereotypes of all kinds -- ethnic, behavioral, and academic. And it is fun! We are so strongly influenced by the media in our perceptions of what people have to be, or look like, for particular professions. So...did you picture an scientists who was a woman? Why, or why not? You'll have the chance to think about the issues of gender and science in general, in this assignment.

The introductory college science textbooks that we use provide a brief sense of the history of physics, astronomy, and chemistry, sketching the development of the science from ancient Assyrian and Mesopotamian astronomers through the Greeks, and then often oncentrating upon the European scientists  (e.g. Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Young, Maxwell, Einstein in Astronomy and Physics; Boyle, Curie, Dalton, in Chemistry; etc.)  Some textbooks include a bit about the contributions of other cultures, including Mayan, Chinese, Polynesian, and Native American astronomers,

But if scientists are mentioned in these historical recaps, they are almost always men. What about the other half of society? What about women?

Our textbook and others do include historical and current references to the lives and contributions of some women: Marie Curie, Caroline Herschel, Maria Mitchell, Annie Cannon, Henrietta Leavitt, Jocelyn Bell, and a few others. Sometimes pictures and brief sketches are provided, and there are sometimes vague references to "difficulties" women encountered in their attempts to crack the gender barrier within science.

But there are far, far more contributors to science who were and are women than our textbooks share. And those difficulties were real, were significant, and have not disappeared. So our goals together in this unit are to learn more about the historical and current contributions of women to science, to learn of the excellent and growing electronic resources related to the status of women in science, and to discuss as a class in our shared online forum what you think, and what you have learned through the research you are about to do.
 

Part 1: Complete the Picture a Scientist Activity. (You already have done this if you did the "Nature of Science" activity in homework #2!  It is listed here in case you skipped that assignment,  but you do NOT have to do this again.)

Part 2: Research and document the contributions of 2 women who have contributed to one of the physical sciences, including Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Geology, Oceanography, and Meteorology. One of the contributors must come from the historical profiles of women who made contributions in the past, and one from the current profiles of women still working in science today. 

Aim for at least 1-2 paragraphs each (at least 250 words each, typed and spell-checked, please.)  Remember that you cannot just copy material from the biographical sketches or encyclopedia listings - you must use quotes if you borrow any phrase, passage, or excerpt verbatim.  And a full, properly formatted bibliographic citation is required.  Also note:

 (a) you must post unique profiles about women scientists that have not yet been profiled by anyone else in the class on Blackboard. If you post a profile about someone who is already featured, you'll earn 0 credit.  So check Blackboard FIRST before you decide who to profile; and,

(b) you must read and respond substantially to the posts of at least two other students, asking questions about the scientists they profiled.

Please summarize in your post your thoughts about biases that existed in the past and still exist today, and how you see those issues evolving in your lifetime. Respond constructively to the postings of at least two of your classmates.

For additional extra credit, you might consider the following or, as always, you are encouraged to come up with your own ideas and contact me for concurrence and assistance. The amount of extra credit available will depend upon what you are able to do.. Extra credit is due no later than the last week of class.

Idea A: After doing the research above, contact one of the women currently doing science, and politely request the opportunity to do a short email or chat interview.  From the research you have done, develop 3-5 questions to ask, and submit to the discussion forum the results of your interview. You might want to refer your contact to this webpage so that she will get a better idea of what you are doing.

Idea B: Write a longer essay (4-5 pages, double-spaced, with an additional page for a bibliography) about the issue of gender in Astronomy (or science in general). Locate at least one, and preferably two or more resources from print or online media, journals, or reports.

One great place to start would be some of the articles available in STATUS, or try doing a literature search with the help of our library faculty. As always, your scholarship is measured in part by your research, proper use of references, citations, and the bibliography. Brief new items may not provide sufficient detail or substance to use as your primary sources here. Email me your essay.

Idea C: Investigate two or more of the resource sites in depth, and evaluate:

• What do the sites present most effectively? Does each accomplish its stated purpose? What else -- other resources, technologies, or content -- would help the authors further improve their sites?
• Post your analysis on the class discussion forum.