Uncovering and Showcasing the Work of a 19th Century Botanist and Educator using Digital Humanities Tools
Creators: name: Lane, Erin
name: Sagal, Katie
name: Smith, India
Publisher: name: unknown
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Feminism
subject: Archives
subject: Digital humanities
subject: Botany
subject: Web sites
subject: English language

description: Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps, one of the most influential botanists in the nineteenth century, grew to significance through her efficient leadership in the classroom as an educator, and through her widely successful writings on almost every scientific subject. Faced with alarmingly few resources for teaching botany, Phelps compiled her lesson plans, which reflected her unique, experimental style, into a single volume. Thus, her first textbook, Familiar Lectures on Botany (1829), was published to great acclaim. Her writing found an audience beyond scholars of botany, however, and became a powerful tool in providing scientific knowledge to the masses. Consequently, over the following years, numerous editions of the textbook were released. These editions reflect relentless demand for Phelps's work, as well as Phelps's ever-expanding knowledge of botany. In 1837, the publication of the fifth edition saw thorough revisions and numerous additions, indicating Phelps's extended research. 

This presentation seeks to showcase findings on Hart Lincoln Phelps' work, life, and that of her female contemporaries working in Botany in the 19th century. It will explain the findings as a result of research on the multiple editions of Familiar Lectures on Botany located in the Special Collections section at the University of Iowa library. To showcase the scholarship conducted on Hart Lincoln Phelps during the Cornell Summer Research Institute (CSRI) India Smith worked with Assistant Professor of English, Katie Sagal, and Digital Liberal Arts Coordinator, Erin Lane, to create an academic website to showcase her work with the wider academic community. Smith created a Google Site and learned skills to customize the aesthetics of the site using html tags. The presentation will also discuss the process of creating the site, obstacles, and successes of the process.
description: Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps, one of the most influential botanists in the nineteenth century, grew to significance through her efficient leadership in the classroom as an educator, and through her widely successful writings on almost every scientific subject. Faced with alarmingly few resources for teaching botany, Phelps compiled her lesson plans, which reflected her unique, experimental style, into a single volume. Thus, her first textbook, Familiar Lectures on Botany (1829), was published to great acclaim. Her writing found an audience beyond scholars of botany, however, and became a powerful tool in providing scientific knowledge to the masses. Consequently, over the following years, numerous editions of the textbook were released. These editions reflect relentless demand for Phelps's work, as well as Phelps's ever-expanding knowledge of botany. In 1837, the publication of the fifth edition saw thorough revisions and numerous additions, indicating Phelps's extended research. This presentation seeks to showcase findings on Hart Lincoln Phelps' work, life, and that of her female contemporaries working in Botany in the 19th century. It will explain the findings as a result of research on the multiple editions of Familiar Lectures on Botany located in the Special Collections section at the University of Iowa library. To showcase the scholarship conducted on Hart Lincoln Phelps during the Cornell Summer Research Institute (CSRI) India Smith worked with Assistant Professor of English, Katie Sagal, and Digital Liberal Arts Coordinator, Erin Lane, to create an academic website to showcase her work with the wider academic community. Smith created a Google Site and learned skills to customize the aesthetics of the site using html tags. The presentation will also discuss the process of creating the site, obstacles, and successes of the process.