Ah!! Alexandra, that’s just what I wondered about The Martian! This is such an interesting discussion, because how people describe what they do is so informative (if you’re brave enough to pick and poke). Because there’s a reason for it, right?
I do wonder… have we lost anything by overshadowing “botany?” And how does this change how scientists explain their work, and how important are titles and labels? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sue Nichols Assistant Director/Strategic communications Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability Michigan State University (517) 432-0206 CSIS homepage CSIS on Facebook @suegnic On Nov 18, 2015, at 7:30 PM, Alexandra Thorn <[email protected]> wrote: > It's an interesting question. > > I think of "botany" as being specifically about phylogeny and > characterizing how different plant species are different from one > another and why. Other plant sciences have other domains in my mind, > e.g. "plant physiology" is about the functional attributes of plants > that might translate among species (just as in animal physiology humans > and mice have basically the same organs), and "plant ecology" is about > the relationships among plant species and between plant species and > other organisms. > > My biology doctorate drew heavily on plant physiology and I feel fine > saying that my degree was in plant biology, plant ecology, or plant > physiology, but if somebody calls me a botanist I tend to think they're > attributing credentials to me that I really don't have. > > Alexandra > > P.S. I am bothered by how the term "botany" is used in the novel "The > Martian." I'm pretty sure that "horticulture" would be a better job > description, but I haven't looked up whether words are just used > differently by NASA and friends... > > On Wed, 18 Nov 2015 16:26:04 -0500 > Thomas Wentworth <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi Chris, >> >> Our Department at NC State University changed its name from Botany to >> Plant Biology (not Plant Science) a number of years ago. We did so >> primarily because of a perception that the public sees "botany" as an >> antiquated term, not inclusive of the vibrant programs in our >> department, which cover the plant realm from molecules to ecosystems. >> We also believed that prospective student searching for "botany" >> programs were more likely to use keywords like "plant" and "biology." >> We avoided "Plant Science" because we thought that too inclusive of >> ALL plant studies, given that at NC State (a Land Grant university) >> we still have departments of Crop Science, Horticulture, Plant >> Pathology, Forestry, etc. >> >> Tom Wentworth >> >> On 11/18/2015 1:00 PM, Christopher Graham wrote: >>> Hi Malcolm, >>> >>> Interesting question. I studied in the plant biology department at >>> the University of Georgia, which until recently had been the botany >>> department. My understanding (and I think this was corroborated by >>> certain faculty members) was that the change reflected the gradual >>> shift from "traditional" botanists, who studied plants at a >>> macroscopic or organismal level and thus were facile with (at least >>> some members of) the regional flora; to academics who focused at >>> the cellular or molecular level to such a degree that many of them >>> do not particularly know or care about the real, wild plants >>> growing around them. I don't doubt that these plant scientists do >>> important things, but it's a shame to me that the former type, the >>> traditional botanist, has been largely displaced by them. >>> >>> chris >>> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: "Malcolm McCallum" <[email protected]> >>> Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2015 12:52:32 PM >>> Subject: plant science vs. botany >>> >>> >>> Over the past several years I have noticed a trend that >>> plant-focused vacancies will refer to the vacancy as plant science >>> and less frequently what used to be typically referred to as >>> zoology will be instead referred to as animal science. When I was >>> an undergraduate, agronomy, pomology, forestry, and course related >>> to agriculture were designated plant science. Agricutlure courses >>> like dairy science, feedlot management, swine management, animal >>> nutrition and the like were designated animal science. >>> >>> >>> The current widespread lack of distinction between zoology vs. >>> animal science, and botany vs. plant science creates a lot of >>> confusion, and doesn't really make any sense to me. >>> >>> >>> >>> Is there a reason that people have stopped using the term >>> zoology/botany and in its stead began using animal science/plant >>> science? It seems like an inappropriate muddying of the academic >>> waters to me. >>> >>> >>> A Plant Scientist and a Botanist are not the same thing, nor is an >>> animal scientist and a zoologist the same thing. Although some >>> people might cross these fields (a ruminant ecologist might cross >>> these areas for example). >>> >>> >>> I know most people probably couldn't care less about this, but I >>> feel it is a pretty important issue. If we are not consistent with >>> terminology, why should we expect students and others to take it >>> seriously? >>> >>> Please feel free to contact me off list because some members of the >>> ECOLOG discussion list get annoyed when it actually involves >>> discussion, so be it. >>> >>> >> >>
