Doctoral Dissertation Research Proposal in Studies in Science, Technology and Society Program

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Dissertation student, Sara Tjossem; topic: "Defying Boundaries: Rachel Carson and Ecological Environmentalism." The development of American ecology involved defining the scope of its influence on fields such as botany and zoology by studying biological processes like the development, adaptation and distribution of organisms. Throughout the development of the field of ecology, the Ecological Society of America promoted its status as a scientific discipline through its journals and scientific meetings. There were difficulties in focus, however, for a society that attracted scientists with such disparate training. Questions arose about the proper direction and scope of ecological questions, such as the place of environmental concerns in research. This drawing of disciplinary boundaries drew distinctions between pure and applied research. Rachel Carson highlighted the problems of defining boundaries by usurping the authority of the scientific field of ecology with her book Silent Spring. Carson popularized ecological concepts and urged the inclusion of ethics in science. She was instrumental in awakening the public to the dangers of excessive pesticide use, yet her reception by ecologists was mixed. Carson was never part of mainstream American ecology and yet she affected its definition by drawing public attention to its practice. Ms. Tjossem is examining the process by which Carson affected the whole course of the science of ecology.