Darwin & gender: a new initiative

‘… one grudges the infinite number of small things to be done, & feels sympathy with womens lot in life. Surely the fact that they have all the little daily things to do is enough to account for their not succeeding in work requiring devotion & abstraction.’

T. H. Farrer to Charles Darwin, 27 October 1870. More …

When he wrote this letter Farrer, who sent Darwin botanical information, was recently widowed and caring for a family of small children.

In July 2009 The University of Cambridge announced a new iniative on ‘Darwin and Gender’ funded over three years by The Bonita Trust.  The initiative is under the direction of the Darwin Correspondence Project and the resources created are being made available through this website.

Hear Professor Jim Secord and Dr Alison Pearn discuss the project on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.

Among the specific areas that the ‘Darwin and Gender’ project addresses are:

• Darwin’s female correspondents (see a complete list)
• Darwin’s domestic life
• Gender in a scientific context
• Gender and society

Researchers funded by The Bonita Trust are providing accurate transcripts of the letters, and researching and writing the contextual material necessary to make them accessible both to scholars and the general public.  Working with a dedicated education officer, they will be selecting letters relevant to gender studies and assist in the creation of carefully targeted, chiefly web-based, educational resources for schools and colleges around the world.