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Disciplining the Reception of Darwin: the Botanical and Sociological Work of Lester Frank Ward

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Disciplining the Reception of Darwin: the Botanical and Sociological Work of Lester Frank Ward AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Katharine Zimmerman for the degree of Master of Arts in History of Science on November 7, 2006 Title: Disciplining the Reception of Darwin: the Botanical and Sociological Work of Lester Frank Ward. Abstract approved: ____________________________________________________________________ Paul Lawrence Farber Mina Carson The publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, truly a synthesized work of natural history, coincided with the emergence of specialized disciplines in the 19th century. This thesis aims to explore the relationship between the specialization of knowledge, in the form of disciplinization, and the reception of new theories in emerging disciplines. To investigate how the development of new disciplines can affect theory reception I will focus on the work of Lester Frank Ward, a prominent paleobotanist who worked jointly for the U.S. National Museum and the U.S Geologic Survey in Washington, DC. Ward was not only central to Gilded Age paleobotany, but he was also devoted to establishing an American sociological tradition, for which he is better remembered. By analyzing the ways in which Ward interpreted and integrated Darwinian evolution into his dual-discipline career, the social and intellectual relationship between the processes of disciplinization and theory reception can be better understood. Comparing and contrasting Ward’s approach towards Darwin in his botanical and sociological work allows for an evaluation of how two very singular and distinct disciplines, each with specialized disciplinary topographies, affected one scientist’s interpretation and application of a new theory. Using evidence found in the Lester Frank Ward Papers at the Smithsonian Institution Archives and at Brown University, the collections of the Library of Congress, and the National Museum of Natural History, I will demonstrate how disciplinization as a process in both the historical and social sciences affected the interpretation and application of Darwin’s theory of evolution not only in Ward’s work, but more broadly as well. As a central figure in both disciplines, Ward’s dual- career can provide much insight for accomplishing such a general task. This thesis aims to fill a gap in the current scholarship of Darwin studies and to contribute to work done by historians on the issue of disciplinarity. ©Copyright by Katharine Zimmerman November 7, 2006 All Rights Reserved Disciplining the Reception of Darwin: The Botanical and Sociological Work of Lester Frank Ward by Katharine Zimmerman A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Presented November 7, 2006 Commencement June 2007 Master of Arts thesis of Katharine Zimmerman Presented on November 7, 2006. APPROVED: _____________________________________________________________ Co-Major Professor, representing History of Science _____________________________________________________________ Co-Major Professor, representing History of Science _____________________________________________________________ Chair of the Department of History _____________________________________________________________ Dean of the Graduate School I understand that my thesis will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my thesis to any reader upon request. ____________________________________________ Katharine Zimmerman, Author ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank the Department of History at Oregon State University for financial, administrative and moral support. To Jane Nichols and the staff of the Valley Library at OSU, the patient people at the Library of Congress, Timothy Engels and his staff at the Special Collections Division at Brown University, the National Museum of Natural History Library staff, and at the Smithsonian Institution Archives: Ellen Alers and especially Pam Henson (who was always ready to help despite being in the midst of a location-move, a collapsing building and Congressional hearings) – Thank you for everything! Deborah J. Warner lent her mentorship, support and insight, and kept me on track with all the right questions. Also, recognition is due to the D.C. History and Philosophy of Science Group for their input on the first chapter. To my fellow graduate students at Oregon State, I owe my sanity. Kristin Johnson, Erik Ellis, Melinda Gormley, Tulley Long, Cpt. Terry Christensen and Dutton, Dog-Prince of Lake Oswego, all offered their friendship and assistance to a new colleague. Rachel Koroloff, Leandra Swanner, Steve Taylor and Erica Jensen – I will always cherish you and the journey we embarked on together.1 Corvallis was home because of you all. 1 Rachel, I wasn’t kidding about the footnote. Rachel has done much more than ever should have been required of her in helping me write this thesis. From hauling and shipping about 100 pounds of library books across the country and globe to tracking down obscure texts on-line and for more than one vital pep talk – thank you! No end of thanks would be sufficient enough to account for the encouragement, mentorship, and support of Ron Doel, Paul Farber and Mary Jo Nye. The extent to which their guidance has shaped my academic life is immeasurable. Special thanks to my advisor, Paul Farber, whose door is always open, whose phone is always answered, whose e-mails are promptly responded to, and whose words in any medium are always of abundant comfort and use. To my parents, Jerry and Rachell Morris – history majors both. I’ve learned more of importance from you than any other place on Earth. Finally, to my husband Dave, there’s nothing I would have rather been doing than starting my life with you while finishing this degree. For keeping a smile on your face as I moved 3,000 miles away, for rescuing my Brown notes after a thunderstorm destroyed my laptop, for always being the light at the end of the tunnel…thank you. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. Chapter One: Emerging Disciplines and the Reception of Darwin ……...... 2 2. Chapter Two: Lester Frank Ward’s Dual-Discipline-Career ……………... 21 3. Chapter Three: Ward, Darwin and Paleobotany …………………………... 37 4. Chapter Four: Ward, Darwin and Sociology ……………………………... 60 5. Chapter Five: Disciplinary Topography as Social and Cognitive Factors in Theory-Reception………………………………. 83 6. Bibliography …………………………………………………………….. 89 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1.1 Lester Frank Ward in his office at the Smithsonian……………………......... 36 3.1 Sympodial dichotomy as illustrated by a For-get-me-not plant………….…... 49 LOCATION OF ARCHIVAL SOURCES AND ABBREVIATIONS LOC Library of Congress, “Collected Miscellaneous Papers, Lester Frank Ward.” Washington, DC LOCMRR Library of Congress, Manuscript Reading Room, “Papers of Lester Frank Ward.” Madison Building, Washington, DC BUSC Brown University, Special Collections, “Lester Frank Ward Papers.” John Hay Library, Providence, RI SIA Smithsonian Institutional Archives, Personal Papers and Special Collections, “Lester Frank Ward Papers.” Arts and Industries Building, Washington, DC For Davis Disciplining the Reception of Darwin: The Botanical and Sociological Work of Lester Frank Ward 2 Chapter One: Emerging Disciplines and the Reception of Darwin On December 26, 1869 a twenty-eight year old Lester Frank Ward wrote excitedly in his journal, “I have finished my scholastic studies and begun my professional ones. But really there is no profession I should like well enough to practice it.” “What I need now,” he continued “is to read the great authors and make many scientific experiments. If I could cover the other professions of medicine and theology and learn two more languages, Hebrew and Spanish, it would help me a great deal. But perhaps that is too much.”2 This ambitious note was characteristic of Ward, whose life and work he devoted to a Gilded-Age faith in the uplifting power of knowledge. Throughout his formal and self-education he fed his wide-ranging interests, making sure to learn as much of the major subjects as he could. Soon Ward found not one, but two professions worth practicing: paleobotany and sociology. Throughout both careers he warned colleagues of the dangers of over-specialization but was himself submitted to the focusing effects of the emergence of new professions and disciplines. The emergence of specialized disciplines was a dominant feature of the scientific enterprise in postbellum America. Narrowed branches stemming from more comprehensive traditions and topics formalized into independent disciplines, often paralleled by the development of accompanying professions recognized as specialized aggregates of authority and expertise. Indicators of the process of disciplinization, resulting from specialization and anticipating professionalization, 2Ibid., p. 317. 3 were the countless societies and journals dedicated to more and more narrow scientific pursuits. Similarly, the professorships and academic departments created within the growing college and university systems reflected the departmentalization of knowledge occurring throughout 19th century America. In this environment, trained specialists often supplanted amateur scientists, formed new communities and networks, and pursued more particular knowledge. This process of disciplinization, an enduring phenomenon, has been an important aspect of modern science and has influenced its cognitive and social environment with consequence – as an analysis of Lester Frank Ward’s dual-discipline career will demonstrate.3 3 Historians
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