What happens when women gather?

Throughout the eighteenth century, women across Europe began creating intellectual communities where they could discuss science, mathematics, philosophy, politics, literature, and medicine. During the Enlightenment, these gatherings helped women challenge the idea that intellectual discovery belonged exclusively to men.

Women such as Laura Bassi, Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Émilie du Châtelet, Catharine Macaulay, Caroline Herschel, and many others built on one another's work and created a path for future generations of women in science.

And that path matters far beyond science. When women gather, exchange knowledge, encourage one another, and make room for the next woman, they can change science, politics, education, and society.

Resources

• Read the original "When Women Gather" article
• Download my list of eighteenth-century women in science
• Laura Bassi,  University of Bologna
• Émilie du Châtelet's translation of Newton's Principia,  Bibliothèque nationale de France
• A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,  Library of Congress
• Caroline Herschel,  Royal Astronomical Society

A Note from Gabrielle

After seven years of making Math! Science! History!, I am putting the podcast on hiatus.

This isn't goodbye. It is a pause, and a chance to step back, breathe, and think about what comes next.

Thank you for gathering with me all these years. As this episode reminds us, when women gather, we share knowledge, empower one another, and create paths for the women who come after us.

And that is a pretty wonderful place to pause.

🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com
📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h

 

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Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers

Until 2027, carpe diem!