Date on Honors Thesis

Winter 12-1-2025

Major

Chemistry

Minor

History

Examining Committee Member

Dr. Kathy Callahan, Advisor

Examining Committee Member

Dr. David Pizzo, Committee Member

Examining Committee Member

Dr. Kevin Revell, Committee Member

Abstract/Description

Maria Gaetana Agnesi, a mathematician and scholar from the 18 th century, is an important historical figure who received a position at the University of Bologna. She is the second woman ever to be appointed to a University professorship, laying the foundation for other women in academia later to come. Many historians interpret Agnesi’s life to be representative of early feminist ideas and would therefore be an example of a proto-feminist. However, this is not accurate, nor is it an ideology Agnesi likely would have subscribed to. Analyzing primary sources written by Agnesi and her contemporaries helps provide insight into the extent to which she would have agreed with feminist ideas. This analysis compares the difference in ideological opinions of thinkers from the 18 th century. The contemporaries analyzed include Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a traditional proponent of gender roles, Mary Wollstonecraft, a radical proto-feminist, and Mary Astell, a mainly conservative thinker who advocated for women’s right to education. The analysis of secondary sources, which are either about Agnesi or reference her in some manner, also provides important contextual information into her life and her legacy. This analysis demonstrated that Agnesi would not have subscribed to feminist ideologies and cannot be classified as a proto-feminist. This is established by the nature of Agnesi’s own beliefs and the familial, religious, and cultural conditions under which she lived, which did not inspire or allow for her to practice feminist ideas. Agnesi’s religion taught the necessity of different gender roles and as a very pious woman, she would have agreed that women’s role in society should be distinct from men. Agnesi did, however, agree with the notion of women receiving a higher education, but this was really the only point her ideas overlapped with feminists on.

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