Julia Gustavsson

Research Topic

A 'domestic pastime'? Gender and Class in the British Child Study Movement 1894-1946

Supervisor: Professor Christina de Bellaigue and Dr Alex Aylward

My thesis traces the life span of the British Child Study Association (BCSA, later the Child Study Society), an amateur science organisation populated by a mix of women teachers, professional scientists, medical practitioners, and parents. Through analysis of the associational culture, scientific practices, and professional conflict within the society, the thesis informs the histories of gender, class, and scientific professionalisation and practice, integrating these with the histories of educational professionalisation. By exploring how gender, class, and profession shaped the dynamics and knowledge production of the British child study movement, the thesis illuminates female and lower-middle-class participation in science in a period where science was increasingly the turf of middle-class professional men. 

You can read more about my research on the Centre for the History of Childhood Blog here.