Our skin is our boundary with the world. Few organs are more vitally important, but, aside from sunburn, blisters or personal grooming, we seldom give it much thought. In particular, we are unlikely to wonder why and how our skin is different from that of the world’s other creatures and how it came to be what it is. It is our great good fortune that Nina Jablonski has spent years examining these questions. Moreover, her research illuminates far more than one bodily organ. It reveals a great deal about what we are and how we came to be as we are. The key to much human history is found in our skin. As she points out, “Humans are the self-decorating ape.”
Nina Jablonski is a Distinguished Professor in the Anthropology Department at Pennsylvania State University. Among her more visible achievements, she has given a TED Lecture, been interviewed on The Colbert Report, and byThe New York Times. It should go without saying that she has received many distinguished awards, a 2012 Guggenheim Award among them. Dr. Jablonski has published articles in Nature and Scientific American as well as daunting array of other respected journals, and has been co-editor of a number of books. She published Skin: A Natural History in 2006 and Living Color: The Biological and Social Meaning of Skin Color, which appeared only a short time ago.
Last May 30, 2013: October 17, 2016
