Papers by Susan Peeters
History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, 2020
During the past decades, our image of Homo neanderthalensis has changed dramatically. Initially, ... more During the past decades, our image of Homo neanderthalensis has changed dramatically. Initially, Neanderthals were seen as primitive brutes. Increas- ingly, however, Neanderthals are regarded as basically human. New discoveries and technologies have led to an avalanche of data, and as a result of that it becomes increasingly difficult to pinpoint what the difference between modern humans and Neanderthals really is. And yet, the persistent quest for a minimal difference which separates them from us is still noticeable in Neanderthal research. Neanderthal dis- course is a vantage point from which the logic of ‘us’ versus ‘other’ is critically reconsidered. Studying contemporary academic literature and science autobiogra- phies from an oblique perspective, focusing not on Neanderthals as objects, but on the dynamics of interaction between Neanderthal researchers and their finds, basic convictions at work in this type of research are retrieved. What is at issue is not the actual distinction between modern humans and Neanderthals (which is continuously being redefined), but rather the dualistic construction of human and nonhuman. Neanderthal understanding is affected by the desire to safeguard human unique- ness. The overall trend is to identify the human mark or spark, which defines us as favoured ‘winners’. The paradoxes emerging in contemporary Neanderthal discourse are symptomatic of the fact that a dualistic style of thinking is no longer tenable.
Conference Presentations by Susan Peeters
Recently, our image of Neanderthals, long considered as dumb brutes, has changed dramatically, an... more Recently, our image of Neanderthals, long considered as dumb brutes, has changed dramatically, and this has repercussions for long-standing views about ourselves as well. Neanderthals provided food for science fiction, and novels reveal the shifts that have occurred in our views on Neanderthals in terms of different or similar, deficient or superior, strange or familiar. Whereas archaeological findings often raise more questions than they answer, novels can be considered laboratories of the imagination, allowing authors to explore possible scenarios. They can function as spotlights, conveying and amplifying stereotypes and ideologies which are also at work in scholarly discourse more explicitly. With the expert Neanderthal discourse as a backdrop and frame of reference, I will focus on novels that deal with Neanderthal-Homo sapiens encounters. We try to understand Neanderthals in terms of their humanity, but establish identity by the difference between us and them. What happens when humans and Neanderthals meet? What differences or similarities are highlighted, which characteristics are valued, what is silenced? How do writers in comparison with scientists deal with the ambiguity of Neanderthals, being strange and familiar at the same time, human, but not-us? Explicit attention will be given to literary archetypes such as the role of the (exploring, conquering) Hero and the opposite side of the archetypical coin, the Orphan, who desires to become connected. This captures a basic ambivalence: the desire to distinguish ourselves versus the need for connectedness. By stepping out of the current social configuration, fiction can reflect and reveal current anxieties and preoccupations as well as implicit biases underlying our ideas and ideals of human and humanness, that should be acknowledged and addressed. By emphasising the importance of connectedness, the figure of the Orphan may function as a counterbalance to an inflated heroic view of early human history.
Oral Recently, Neanderthals have metamorphosed from the losers of the human family tree to people... more Oral Recently, Neanderthals have metamorphosed from the losers of the human family tree to people like us, full-fledged humans. However, the persistent quest for a minimal difference which separates them from us continues. Palaeoanthropology primarily studies ancestors from a distant past, but its findings also affect the identity and self-image of us, modern humans, defining what it means to be human today. This raises several questions, ranging from more general ones (e.g. How have we used Neanderthals to conceptualize ourselves as human beings?) up to more specific ones (e.g. How are gender issues constructed in narratives about Neanderthals and what does that reveal about current implicit views about gender identities?). This is not only visible in academic discourse, but also in popularisations of research. Popularised versions of Neanderthal research function as spotlights, conveying and amplifying the stereotypes and ideologies which are also at work in scholarly discourse more explicitly. Explicit attention will be given to how males and masculinity are presented. Implicit biases underlying our ideas and ideals of human and humanness, we argue, should be acknowledged and addressed. This will allow us to become open to more inclusive visions of the past, and of what it is to be human.
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Papers by Susan Peeters
Conference Presentations by Susan Peeters