Book Review : Gender , Science , and Authority in Women ’ s Travel Writing
and writer Nísia Floresta , whose travels through Europe ( between 1856 and 1865 ) were the basis of her natural history discourse ; Floresta used natural history to depict her travels , inscribing herself in this tradition by creating a literary authority that contributed to her visibility in Europe ( 17 ). The final chapter focuses on Doris Cochran , an American herpetologist from the Smithsonian . Cochran ’ s strategies in Latin America focused on overcoming the gender constraints that overshadowed the American scientific community in the early twentieth century ( 17 ). Using these four female transatlantic subjects , from different countries and with diverse educational backgrounds and scientific interests , Medeiros traces the ways in which these women leveraged their travel to gain social access to public discourse in their fields , and established themselves as authoritative transatlantic subjects with unique , valuable knowledge in their respective fields ( 18 ).
The only halfhearted criticism of this tome is that it is too short and too focused�while certainly the innovative ways Latin American female scientists included themselves in natural fieldwork and shared their discoveries with the public , despite the limitations on the venues in which they could do so , are valuable and underexplored historical knowledge , I suspect that these approaches were shared by women across the globe . As Mederios notes in the conclusion ( would could well be the foundation for another , wider study ), the “ under-representation of women in the history of sciences and in the construction of knowledge is a universal problem . In order to further uncover and better understand their role [ s ], a more comprehensive dialogue between the sciences and the humanities is needed ” ( 185 ). Until there is true dialogue , the accomplishments of female scientists will always take a backseat to that of their male counterparts .
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