Minervas of Science, 1700-1950 - five online talks by Dr Patricia Fara

If you wish to register for this series after 9-Oct-25, please e-mail onlinetalks@martinrandall.co.uk

The concept of an intellectual woman has long been riddled with ambiguities. During the Enlightenment period, outstanding women were often identified with Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and war. She was portrayed as a tall, athletic virgin clad in armour, a wise owl perched on her military helmet: although explicitly female, she displayed many of the attributes more commonly associated with men. Especially in science, such views have been slow to fade, and even today female scientists are sometimes judged by their gender and their appearance rather than their abilities.

Women have largely been excluded from conventional versions of science’s history, but they often played important roles. This series features examples drawn from the last quarter of a millennium to illustrate how some women successfully negotiated the obstacles confronting them. Through examining the contextualised lives and careers of particular individuals, these five talks – which stand independently but are inter-related – explore the concealed prejudices and unstated assumptions that still pervade modern society.

They take place every Thursday from 9 October to 6 November 2025 at 4.30pm (London) and, including Q&A, will last just under an hour. They are available for viewing for eight weeks after the last episode is streamed (until 1 January 2026).