•  
  •  
 

Abstract

From the Introduction:

Feminist science studies, which do not have a unified term so far in the German debate, regard mathematics, science and technology within their historical and social context (Heike Kahlert 1996, Heike Wiesner 1994). This critical contextualization of math-natural scientific thinking and acting is not regarded as a task of the corresponding disciplines but is linked to other disciplines like the history and philosophy of science, didactics or science and technology studies. Therefore, feminist science studies cannot be worked out within mathematics, science and engineering at all because they do not make sense within the scientific self-understanding (Margarete Maurer 1989, Marlies Krüger 1989). Different from the humanities and social sciences, women’s and gender-specific contents in research and teaching could hardly be established in mathematics, natural and technical sciences so far. Making everything even more difficult, courses at German universities are very disciplinary and there don’t exist women’s studies programs (or STS programs) so far. By comparison with the situation in the USA, students of science and engineering fields hardly get in touch with gender studies and feminist theories. Up to now the long-standing efforts for an institutionalization of feminist science studies into science and engineering departments at German universities are still scarcely successful and have just recently taken a promising turn.

Share

COinS