Against All Odds: Women’s Ways to Mathematical Research Since 1800 (Women in the History of Philosophy and Sciences (6))

This book presents an overview of the ways in which women have been able to conduct mathematical research since the 18th century, despite their general exclusion from the sciences. Grouped into four thematic sections, the authors concentrate on well-known figures like Sophie Germain and Grace Chisholm Young, as well as those who have remained unnoticed by historians so far. Among them are Stanisława Nidodym, the first female students at the universities in Prague at the turn of the 20th century, and the first female professors of mathematics in Denmark. Highlighting individual biographies, couples in science, the situation at specific European universities, and sociological factors influencing specific careers from the 18th century to the present, the authors trace female mathematicians’ status as it evolved from singular and anomalous to virtually commonplace. The book also offers insights into the various obstacles women faced when trying to enter perhaps the “most male” discipline of all, and how some of them continue to shape young girls’ self-perceptions and career choices today. Thus, it will benefit scholars and students in STEM disciplines, gender studies and the history of science; women in science, mathematics and at institutions, and those working in mathematics education. Front Matter ....Pages i-xxi Front Matter ....Pages 1-8 Internationality: Women in Felix Klein’s Courses at the University of Göttingen (1893–1920) (Renate Tobies)....Pages 9-38 Academic Education for Women at the University of Würzburg, Bavaria (Katharina Spieß)....Pages 39-71 Women and Mathematics at the Universities in Prague (Martina Bečvářová)....Pages 73-111 Front Matter ....Pages 113-119 Grace Chisholm Young, William Henry Young, Their Results on the Theory of Sets of Points at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century, and a Controversy with Max Dehn (Elisabeth Mühlhausen)....Pages 121-132 Emma S. and Wladimir S. Woytinsky: An Unusual Couple in Statistics (Annette B. Vogt)....Pages 133-150 Stanisława and Otton Nikodym (Danuta Ciesielska)....Pages 151-175 Front Matter ....Pages 177-183 Arithmetic and Memorial Practices by and Around Sophie Germain in the 19th Century (Jenny Boucard)....Pages 185-230 Dorothy Wrinch, 1894–1976 (Marjorie Senechal)....Pages 231-248 Living by Numbers: The Strategies and Life Stories of Mid-Twentieth Century Danish Women Mathematicians (Lisbeth Fajstrup, Anne Katrine Gjerløff, Tinne Hoff Kjeldsen)....Pages 249-277 Front Matter ....Pages 279-279 Hearsay, Not-So-Big Data and Choice: Understanding Science and Maths Through the Lives of Men Who Supported Women (Paola Govoni)....Pages 281-314 Back Matter ....Pages 315-319