Women and science: lecture 1

The Women and Science lecture series is co-hosted by the Royal Society of NSW and the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts. It examines the huge changes in the roles women play in science, and the view science has of women. Prohibited for much of history from having a serious interest in such a ‘masculine’ domain, women now abound in science, mathematics and engineering. How did that come to be? How did interaction with the visual and literary arts so often assist women in their scientific endeavours? What fascinating discoveries have women made that have changed our world and our understanding of it?

   “Mary Shelley, scientist,
    and Frankenstein”

    Suzanne Burdon

Mary Shelley, by Reginald Easton, and a page of the Frankenstein ms. Both from Bodleian Library, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Thursday 21 March 2019
Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, 280 Pitt St, Sydney

Suzanne Burdon discussed the remarkable achievements of Mary Shelley, who, as a feisty 18-year-old, read every important scientific treatise and created Frankenstein and his monster in a moral tale that still highlights the exact scientific ethical dilemmas we face today (for example, the cloning of real human babies).