Nancy Stepan

Nancy Leys Stepan is a professor emeritus of history at Columbia University. She previously worked as a professor of modern history at the University of Oxford and was a senior fellow at the university's Wellcome Unit. Her research focuses on the history of science in Latin America and the importance of scientific research in the tropics.

Education

Stepan earned a Ph.D. from the University of California in 1971.

Career

In 1976, Stepan published her first book titled Beginnings of Brazilian Science, covering the early history of science in Brazil during the very end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. It especially focused on the life of Oswaldo Cruz and his contributions to the country. The timing of her book being released, during the reign of Ernesto Geisel, would be influential toward ending the dictatorial period. It would go on to be a seminal work for discussions of scientific advancement in Brazil and the policy debates that have taken place in the decades since in both academic and political circles.

Stepan's following 1982 book, The Idea of Race in Science, addressed the issue of race science in early British scientific research and how it influenced later development of scientific methodologies. It discussed both the usage of pseudoscience that was pervasive in early use of the scientific method and how it was combined with ideas of race that would ultimately lead to future bigoted beliefs becoming common in the scientific community. This commonality was thanks to the racist claims made by large names in science such as Charles Darwin, who formed a central thesis of the book about "dubious, culturally ridden science".

Continuing her research into Latin American history, Stepan released "The Hour of Eugenics" in 1991 that investigated the history of eugenics practices in the region from the 1880s to just after World War II. The book particularly noted the cultural shifts of the eugenicist practices from early proponents arguing about the importance of evolution and preventing moral degeneration of civilization, but keeping it largely within an academic and partially political sphere. After World War I, the expression of eugenics was expanded in Latin America to active organizations and conferences pushing the beliefs up until the aftermath of World War II which resulted in the collapse of the subject in the area after the actions of Nazi Germany became public knowledge. Stepan, in addition to covering this, also noted how eugenics discussions in Latin America took significantly different routes from its counterparts in North America and Europe, largely without the racial components used therein. This alternative trajectory instead focused on Neo-Lamarckian claims due to the populations involved being of non-white racial groups in the first place, instead arguing for racial improvement within their own communities.

The research articles that Stepan published beyond just her books has had major impacts on the development of the history of science in Latin America, pushing discussions on each of her book's overall themes to new avenues, particularly for members of the Latin American Studies Association. The scholarship in the decades since has been shaped by her writings on what constituted national and transatlantic science and how Latin America affected the broader scientific community in ways not previously considered. Her work has also shaped greater research into other less studied regions of the world, particularly in postcolonial countries, and also placed feminist studies at the forefront through her consideration of the impact of female scientists in Latin America.

Organizations

Stepan is a member of the History of Science Society and served as the Local Arrangements Chairwoman in the 1970s.

Awards and honors

Stepan was made a Guggenheim Fellow in 1986 for her research on Iberian and Latin American history.

Bibliography

• — (1976). Beginnings of Brazilian Science: Oswaldo Cruz, Medical Research and Policy, 1890-1920. Science History Publications. p. 225. ISBN 9780882020327.

• — (1982). The Idea of Race in Science: Great Britain, 1800-1960. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 230. ISBN 9781349054527.

• — (1991). "The Hour of Eugenics": Race, Gender, and Nation in Latin America. Cornell University Press. p. 248. ISBN 9781501702259.

• — (2001). Picturing Tropical Nature. Cornell University Press. p. 283. ISBN 9781861891464.

• — (2011). Eradication: Ridding the World of Diseases Forever?. Reaktion Books. p. 312. ISBN 9781861898616.