Gender, Politics, and Radioactivity Research in Vienna, 1910-1938
GENDER, POLITICS, AND RADIOACTIVITY RESEARCH IN VIENNA, 1910-1938 by Maria Rentetzi Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Science and Technology Studies Richard M. Burian, committee chair Aristides Baltas Gary L. Downey Peter L. Galison Bernice L. Hausman Joseph C. Pitt March 25, 2003 Blacksburg, Virginia Keywords: gender and science, history of radioactivity, 20th century physics, architecture of the physics laboratory, women’s lived experiences in science, Institute for Radium Research in Vienna Copyright 2003, Maria Rentetzi GENDER, POLITICS, AND RADIOACTIVITY RESEARCH IN VIENNA, 1910-1938 Maria Rentetzi ABSTRACT What could it mean to be a physicist specialized in radioactivity in the early 20th century Vienna? More specifically, what could it mean to be a woman experimenter in radioactivity during that time? This dissertation focuses on the lived experiences of the women experimenters of the Institut für Radiumforschung in Vienna between 1910 and 1938. As one of three leading European Institutes specializing in radioactivity, the Institute had a very strong staff. At a time when there were few women in physics, one third of the Institute’s researchers were women. Furthermore, they were not just technicians but were independent researchers who published at about the same rate as their male colleagues. This study accounts for the exceptional constellation of factors that contributed to the unique position of women in Vienna as active experimenters. Three main threads structure this study. One is the role of the civic culture of Vienna and the spatial arrangements specific to the Mediziner-Viertel in establishing the context of the intellectual work of the physicists.
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