Category Archives: Projects

Zsuzsa Török, Branding Emília. Editorial Partnership and Marital Collaboration in Családi Kör (1860–80)

This paper explores the editorial partnership between Emília Kánya (1828–1905), the first female editor in Hungary and the Habsburg Monarchy, and her husband, the writer, journalist, and teacher Mór Szegfi (1825–96). The paper positions the couple as influential figures whose collaboration shaped the development of women’s periodicals in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. Kánya’s two-decade editorship of Családi Kör (Family Circle, 1860–80) established her as a pivotal figure in Hungarian print culture and offered subsequent female editors a successful model for navigating emerging forms of popular media. However, this study argues that her editorial influence and public visibility were made possible by a broader support network, of which her husband was an integral part.

Drawing on previously overlooked archival sources, including Szegfi’s correspondence, the paper reconstructs the behind-the-scenes dynamics of their working relationship. It reveals that Szegfi was deeply involved in the production, management, and conceptual development of Családi Kör, providing strategic editorial guidance and content. By branding the journal with Emília’s first name, the couple cultivated a distinctive editorial identity that lent the publication a recognisable persona and a sense of intimacy in an increasingly diverse periodical market.

By focusing on the collaborative dimension of Kánya’s career, this paper challenges conventional narratives that dwell on the solitary struggle of early female editors. Instead, it emphasises how marital partnerships could facilitate creative and professional synergy, enabling women to exert cultural influence within and beyond the domestic sphere.

Brigitte Stenhouse, Mister Mary Somerville: Marriage and the making of mathematical careers in 19th-century Britain and beyond 

As a married couple, Mary (née Fairfax) and Dr William Somerville manoeuvred themselves into the centre of a multidisciplinary network of scientific households in early-nineteenth century Britain. Mrs Somerville established herself as a mathematician through submitting puzzle solutions to periodicals and writing a critically acclaimed English translation of a mathematical work on astronomy. She subsequently turned her attention to the writing of popular scientific books, in which she was substantially assisted by her husband. An army physician, Dr Somerville had directed his attention to supporting the social infrastructure of science, founding institutions such as the Athenaeum Club and the Statistical Society. He was thus able to support his wife by lending books from libraries, mediating her letter correspondence, and liaising with her publisher. When Dr Somerville died in 1860, Mrs Somerville was able to continue her scientific writing with the support of her son, in place of her husband. The Somervilles’ collaboration was unique for their time, in that a woman was the more prominent intellectual figure and administrative support was provided by male relatives.

This research sits at the intersection of two projects. Firstly, my doctoral research examined the mathematical work of Mary Somerville and what it meant for her to be a mathematician as an upper-middle-class woman in 19th-century Britain (book in progress). Secondly, a joint project with Dr David E. Dunning drew connections between the myriad ways in which spousal collaboration and support have been central to mathematical work, focusing on the 19th century onwards. The latter project led to a special issue of Endeavour (2023) titled, Calculating Couples: Domesticity and Gender in the Making of Mathematical Careers.

Brigitte Stenhouse is a Lecturer in History of Mathematics at the Open University (UK)

Publications:

Dunning, D. E. & Stenhouse, B. (2023). Bringing the history of mathematics home: Entangled practices of domesticity, gender, and mathematical work, Endeavour 47:4 100902.

Stenhouse, B. (2021). Mister Mary Somerville: Husband and Secretary, The Mathematical Intelligencer 43 pp.7-18.

Stenhouse, B. (2021). Mary Somerville: Being and Becoming a Mathematician, PhD Thesis, The Open University.

Sven Jaros, The Intellectual Relationship of Seweryna Duchińska and Franciszek Duchiński as an Intersectional History of Knowledge of Eastern Europe

The research project examines the life and work of the Polish scholarly couple, Seweryna Duchińska and Franciszek Duchiński, in the 19th century. Following their emigration from the Russian Empire, they established their primary base of activity in France. Despite significant methodological flaws, Duchiński managed to establish himself as a sought-after expert on Eastern Europe in various Western European countries with his controversial thesis on the non-Slavic origins of the “Great Russians.” His wife, Seweryna, who was central to his intellectual endeavours and an esteemed translator, poet, and ethnographer in her own right, has largely been overlooked in previous research.

My project seeks to investigate the dynamics of this scholarly partnership and aims to contribute to an understanding of female agency within the transnational scientific community of the 19th century. Methodologically, the project draws on imperial biographical research and digital correspondence analysis to explore transnational entanglements. This research is situated within current academic discourses on female agency, expertise, and national identities in the 19th century.

See for a more detailed description: https://histonet19.hypotheses.org/3348

Sven Jaros is a PostDoc Researcher at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg / Aleksander Brückner Center for Polish Studies.