American Life: Biologists and the Shaping of a Nation

美国生活：生物学家与国家的塑造

• 批准号: 9421880
• 负责人: Philip Pauly
• 金额: $ 8万
• 依托单位: Rutgers University New Brunswick
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fixed Amount Award
• 财政年份: 1995
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1995-07-01 至 1997-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9421880&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: American; Life; Biologists; Shaping; Nation

A. PROJECT SUMMARY American Life: Biologists and the Shaping of a Nation Professor Pauly is examining the interrelations between the history of American biology and the biohistory of North American with the aim of clarifying the degree to which the goals of American biologists have been linked to national goals. Professor Pauly hopes to delineate the biotic foundations of the development of the life sciences in the U.S. to uncover how biologists' activities affected the continent's organisms (plant, animal, and human), and to show how these interactions influenced biologists' identities, work experiences, and social relations. The project will explicate how biology and biologists were pivotal in interpreting and advancing what was singular about America. More specifically, Professor Pauly argues that the enduring aim of American biologists was to coadapt diverse populations within a unique and seemingly malleable geographic setting. He describes three movements: 1) A small group of scientists built a bureaucratized network that would, in conjunction with the federal government, identify and manage the plant, animal, and human populations of much of North America. 2) Then, laboratory biologists turned to new subjects of inquiry that seemed intellectually deeper and personally more fulfilling; this academic work soon led to significant reflections regarding the links between the organization of nature and the organization of democracy. 3) And finally, biologists sought new paths through which they could effectively influence American populations. They found different challenges in agriculture, medicine, eugenics, and education. Professor Pauly's research highlights the variety of ways in which biology was a contested and unclear science. Its definition and boundaries were contested. Biologists seemingly conflated thinking about their objects of study and themselves. The involvement of biologists with such contentious ideas and practices as evolution, sex, and viv isection led to difficult relations with members of the public. The relations between universal knowledge claims and national facts and interests were obscure. Professor Pauly argues that these difficulties were not liabilities; rather they formed crucial resources for scientific and political creativity.

A. 项目摘要 美国生活：生物学家与一个国家的塑造 保利教授正在研究美国生物学史和北美生物史之间的相互关系，目的是澄清美国生物学家的目标与国家目标之间的联系。 Pauly教授希望描绘美国生命科学发展的生物基础，揭示生物学家的活动如何影响大陆的生物（植物，动物和人类），并展示这些相互作用如何影响生物学家的身份，工作经验和社会关系。 该项目将解释生物学和生物学家如何在解释和推进美国的独特性方面发挥关键作用。 更具体地说，保利教授认为，美国生物学家的持久目标是在一个独特的和看似可塑的地理环境中共同适应不同的种群。 他描述了三个运动：1）一小群科学家建立了一个官僚化的网络，与联邦政府合作，识别和管理北美大部分地区的植物、动物和人口。 2)然后，实验室生物学家转向了新的研究课题，这些课题似乎在智力上更深入，对个人更有成就感;这项学术工作很快导致了对自然组织与民主组织之间联系的重要思考。 3)最后，生物学家寻求新的途径，通过这些途径他们可以有效地影响美国人口。 他们在农业、医学、优生学和教育方面发现了不同的挑战。 保利教授的研究突出了生物学是一门有争议和不清楚的科学的各种方式。 它的定义和边界有争议。 生物学家似乎把他们的研究对象和他们自己混为一谈。 生物学家参与诸如进化论、性别和生殖等有争议的观点和实践，导致了他们与公众的关系变得困难。 普遍知识主张与国家事实和利益之间的关系模糊不清。 保利教授认为，这些困难不是责任;相反，它们形成了科学和政治创造力的关键资源。