Teaching Mary Toft ("The Rabbit Queen") and the Science Debates of the 18th c. during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The case of Mary Toft, the “Rabbit Breeding woman” of Godalming, England, will be used to illustrate the peculiar challenges and opportunities for teaching the tortured emergence of (environmental and other) science in England during the early modern period to undergraduate students currently experiencing the “science wars” of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

Presenter Biography
Lora E. Geriguis is a Professor of English Literature at La Sierra University (Riverside, CA, USA). Her research focuses on 17th and 18th century British texts. Her teaching includes courses on Science and Literature, Humanities, and Literary Criticism.