A Companion to the History of American Science offers a collection of essays that give an authoritative overview of the most recent scholarship on the history of American science.

* Covers topics including astronomy, agriculture, chemistry, eugenics, Big Science, military technology, and more

* Features contributions by the most accomplished scholars in the field of science history

* Covers pivotal events in U.S. history that shaped the development of science and science policy such as WWII, the Cold War, and the Women's Rights movement

Georgina M. Montgomery is Associate Professor of Science History at Michigan State University. She is co-editor of Making Animal Meaning (2011) and author of Primates in the Real World: Escaping Primate Folklore and Creating Primate Science (2015).

Mark A. Largent is Professor and Associate Dean of Lyman Briggs College at Michigan State University. He is the author of Vaccine: The Debate in Modern America (2012) and Breeding Contempt: The History of Coerced Sterilization in the United States (2007).

Klappentext

A COMPANION TO THE
HISTORY OF AMERICAN SCIENCE

"A Companion to the History of American Science is a fresh and much welcomed sourcebook presenting new interpretations of scientific disciplines and key topics that influenced American culture. It is a seminal contribution that will interest historians of science, Americanists, and scientists."
Marsha L. Richmond, Wayne State University

"A collaborative effort of established scholars and rising stars, this Companion brings together a wide-ranging array of entries to highlight the culture-bearing nature of science in the American context.Covering established themes such as the rise of disciplinary knowledge and the professionalization of science, to emerging trends like environmental studies and biotechnology, it is at once summative and forward-looking, both an accumulation of past approaches and a guide to the future of scholarship. It represents an unparalleled compendium of the most significant sub-discipline in the history of science."
Michael Reidy, Montana State University

A Companion to the History of American Science presents an authoritative overview of the most recent scholarship on the history of American science – from the intellectual curiosity of the Founding Fathers to the country's cutting-edge technological achievements in the 21st century. Featuring contributions from a wide range of established and emerging scholars in related scientific fields, essays explore specific sciences, the intersections of modern science and American society, and techno-science issues in American science historiography. Essays are written with an eye toward accessibility for students, scholars, and non-specialists alike, and cover topics ranging from astronomy, agriculture, biology, chemistry, ecology, and eugenics to relativity, military technology, Big Science, and many more. A key theme is the fundamental question of how the United States – with so few scientific resources and lagging far behind its European counterparts at the beginning of the 19th century – so rapidly developed into an influential and productive scientific community. A Companion to the History of American Science offers illuminating insights into the histories of various disciplines and important topics in the two-and-a half century narrative of scientific minds, policies, and events that transpired in the United States.

Zusammenfassung
A Companion to the History of American Science offers a collection of essays that give an authoritative overview of the most recent scholarship on the history of American science.

• Covers topics including astronomy, agriculture, chemistry, eugenics, Big Science, military technology, and more
• Features contributions by the most accomplished scholars in the field of science history
• Covers pivotal events in U.S. history that shaped the development of science and science policy such as WWII, the Cold War, and the Women's Rights movement

Notes on Contributors xi

Introduction 1
Georgina M. Montgomery and Mark A. Largent

Part I Disciplines 7

1 Agricultural Sciences 9
Samantha Noll

2 Anthropology 21
Adrian Young

3 Astronomy and Astrophysics 33
Peter J. Susalla

4 Chemistry 44
Ann E. Robinson

5 Computer Science 55
Stephanie Dick

6 Conservation Biology 69
Christian C. Young

7 Economics 82
Ross B. Emmett

8 Experimental Psychology 95
Jim Wynter Porter

9 Genetics 110
Melinda Gormley

10 Geophysics 120
Matthew Shindell

11 Marine Biology 134
Samantha Muka

12 Medical Genetics 147
Andrew J. Hogan

13 Meteorology and Atmospheric Science 160
James Bergman

14 Molecular and Cellular Biology 174
Lijing Jiang

15 Nuclear, High Energy, and Solid State Physics 186
Joseph D. Martin

16 Nutrition 199
Jessica Mudry

17 Paleoanthropology and Human Evolution 213
Matthew R. Goodrum

18 Paleontology 227
Paul D. Brinkman

19 Ecology 241
Gina Rumore

20 Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology 252
Abraham H. Gibson and Michael Ruse

21 Sociology 263
Sebasti ´an Gil-Riano

22 Space and Planetary Sciences 276
Erik M. Conway

Part II Topics 289

23 Biotechnology 291
Nathan Crowe

24 Darwinism 306
Adam M. Goldstein

25 Science Education 320
Adam R. Shapiro

26 Environmental Science 333
Daniel Zizzamia

27 The American Eugenics Movement 345
Christine Neejer

28 Evolution and Creation Debates 361
Arthur Ward

29 Field and Laboratory 374
Jeremy Vetter

30 Gender and Science 385
Donald L. Opitz

31 The Germ Theory 397
Jacob Steere-Williams

32 Instrumentation 408
Sara J. Schechner

33 Science and Literature 420
Stephen Rachman

34 Museums 431
Amy Kohout

35 Natural History 444
Pamela M. Henson

36 Nature Study 456
Sally Gregory Kohlstedt

37 Science and Policy 468
Kevin C. Elliott

38 Popularizing Science 479
Constance Areson Clark

39 Science and Postcolonialism 491
Banu Subramaniam

40 Racial Science 502
Robert Bernasconi

41 Relativity in America 512
Daniel Kennefick

42 Science and Religion 528
Mark A. Waddell

43 Sex and Science 541
Miriam G. Reumann

44 Zoos and Aquariums 553
Christian C. Young

Bibliography 566

Index 666