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Entomologists and the Revolution

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Insects, Experts, and the Insecticide Crisis

Abstract

Economic entomology as a distinct field of study began in the last half of the nineteenth century. Its crystallization into a discipline and a profession was contemporaneous with the emergence of mechanized, capital-intensive agriculture. Indeed, professionalism for entomologists was analogous in a socioeconomic sense to the transformation of agriculture. Just as farmers gained social status and better incomes by substituting capital for labor, entomologists gained status and higher incomes by organizing themselves into a strong professional association. The development of economic entomology was also an integral part of the growth in American government and universities as major loci for research and teaching. By 1900, entomologists were an identifiable scientific group with intellectual and social roots extending to other academics, farmers, and colleagues in the civil service.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington, USA

    John H. Perkins

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© 1982 Plenum Press, New York

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Perkins, J.H. (1982). Entomologists and the Revolution. In: Insects, Experts, and the Insecticide Crisis. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3998-4_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3998-4_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-4000-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-3998-4

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