How Gender Shaped Science and Education: A History of Nutritional Sciences in the 19th and 20th Centuries

Abstract

Many societies view the world as composed of two distinct and complementary spheres: the female (domestic) sphere and the male (public) sphere. Because science was part of the male sphere, women were inhibited from pursuing a career in scientific research. However, the more limited female sphere often found within university departments of home economics provided women some space to establish their own research agendas. Using the lens of the history of nutrition, we can see how this universe of separate spheres had, and continues to have, both negative and positive effects for women in science.

Keywords

nutrition / home economics / higher education / women’s education