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Studies in the History of Natural Sciences  2019, Vol. 38 Issue (1): 105-115    DOI:
ARTICLES     
Religion, Gender and Science: Quaker Writer Priscilla Wakefield and Her Botany
JIANG Hong
Center for Culture, Science and Technology of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
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Abstract  As a typical female popularizer of science for young people during the 18th and 19th centuries in Britain, Priscilla Wakefield personified the faith and practice of the Quakers, the Religious Society of Friends: simplicity and utility, pursuit of sciences especially botany, the equality of men and women, abolitionism, philanthropy, etc. She integrated religion, moral education and love of nature into popular science writing. This paper focuses on her An Introduction to Botany, in which she popularized botanical knowledge in personal letters between sisters, and also valued the utility of plants and highly praised the wisdom of the Creator. Her career of science popularization and philanthropy and her gender ideology were greatly shaped by her religion. As a popularizer and moderate feminist, Wakefield served as a window onto interactions between scientific culture, religion and gender ideology

Key words： Priscilla Wakefield      Quaker      botany      gender     
Received: 15 August 2017      Published: 28 September 2022
ZTFLH:  N09  
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JIANG Hong. Religion, Gender and Science: Quaker Writer Priscilla Wakefield and Her Botany. Studies in the History of Natural Sciences, 2019, 38(1): 105-115.

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http://www.shns.ac.cn/     OR     http://www.shns.ac.cn/Y2019/V38/I1/105

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