Women Becoming Mathematicians: Creating a Professional Identity in Post-World War II America [Hardcover]

Margaret A. M. Murray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0262133695 | ISBN-13: 978-0262133692 | Edition: 1st

Women Becoming Mathematicians looks at the lives and careers of thirty-six of the approximately two hundred women who earned Ph.D.s in mathematics from American institutions from 1940 to 1959. During this period, American mathematical research enjoyed an unprecedented expansion, fueled by the technological successes of World War II and the postwar boom in federal funding for education in the basic sciences. Yet women's share of doctorates earned in mathematics in the United States reached an all-time low. This book explores the complex interplay between the personal and professional lives of those women who embarked on mathematical careers during this period, with a view to understanding how changes in American society during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s affected their career development and identities as mathematicians.The book is based on extensive interviews with thirty-six women mathematicians of the postwar generation, as well as primary and secondary historical and sociological research. Taking a life-course approach, the book examines the development of mathematical identity across the life span, from childhood through adulthood and into retirement. It focuses on the process by which women who are actively involved in the mathematical community come to "know themselves" as mathematicians. The women's stories are instructive precisely because they do not conform to a set pattern; compelled to improvise, the women mathematicians of the 1940s and 1950s followed diverse paths in their struggle to construct a professional identity in postwar America.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A sophisticated, scholarly, and readable study—this is without a doubtthe best book yet written on American women mathematicians. It is a 'mustread' for women (and men) of the mathematical community, as well as forspecialists in history of science, sociology of the professions, andwomen's studies." Ann Hibner Koblitz, Women's Studies Program, Arizona State University

About the Author

Margaret A. M. Murray, formerly Professor of Mathematics at Virginia Tech, is a Visiting Professor of Mathematics and English at the University of Iowa.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 1st edition (August 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262133695
• ISBN-13: 978-0262133692
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,775,523 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No limit to women's success in math, November 18, 2006

By 

JNH "Math Muse" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women Becoming Mathematicians: Creating a Professional Identity in Post-World War II America (Hardcover)

The reason I ordered this book was because my mother's cousin, Kenneth Wolfson, is mentioned in it several times. His support of his female students is well known and remembered by all who knew him. The book itself encourages me to pursue my own degree in mathematics. I owe my future career to my cousin and all of the women in this book. Thank you for being strong and proving to the academic world that women have a place in mathematics.

4.0 out of 5 stars a good book, November 8, 2000

By 

K. Bold - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Women Becoming Mathematicians: Creating a Professional Identity in Post-World War II America (Hardcover)

I first saw this book in the UT Math Library. I sat down and didn't stop reading it for 45 minutes (too bad I had class). It's really interesting and a quick read.