Masculinity and Science in Britain, 1831–1918

Heather Ellis is Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Sheffield, UK. She researches the cultural history of higher education, science and gender. She is the author of Generational Conflict and University Reform: Oxford in the Age of Revolution (2012) which was awarded the 2014 Kevin Brehony prize by the History of Education Society UK.

• Introduction: The Man of Science as a Gendered Ideal.- 1. The Changing Public Image of the Man of Science, 1600-1830.- 2. New Masculine Heroes: Davy, Bacon and the Construction of the Gentleman-Scientist.- 3. 'An Effete World': Gendered Criticism and the British Association.- 4. Thomas Carlyle, the X-Club and the Hero as Man of Science.- 5. The Decline of the British Association? Marginalization, Masculinity and Marconi.- 6. Reuniting Theory and Practice: The Man of Science and the First World War.- Conclusion.

“Heather Ellis … demolishes the notion that men of science in the nineteenth century enjoyed an unchallenged masculine persona (1–3, 21). Her textured and sophisticated book deserves to become required reading for anyone interested in science and gender.” (Richard Bellon, Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences, Vol. 48 (2), 2018)