Frans de Waal
“Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist”
Michael Mizell Memorial Public History Lecture
Sponsored by MBL: Falmouth Forum
Lecture Abstract:
How different are men and women? Do they differ naturally or artificially? Do we find the same differences in our fellow primates? Do apes learn sex roles, too, or is “gender” uniquely human? In this Falmouth Forum, renowned primatologist Frans de Waal will discuss his book Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist, and his studies of both human and animal behavior that argue that a distinction between gender (cultural) and sex (biological) is useful to draw attention to the eternal interplay between nature and nurture. DIFFERENT provides a thought-provoking review of the long-running debate about the origins of sex and gender.
About Frans B. M. de Waal: Frans de Waal, Author, C.H. Candler Professor Emeritus, Emory University; Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Utrecht University, is a Dutch/American biologist and primatologist known for his work on the behavior and social intelligence of primates. His first book, Chimpanzee Politics (1982), compared the schmoozing and scheming of chimpanzees involved in power struggles with that of human politicians. His scientific work has been published in hundreds of technical articles in journals such as Science, Nature, Scientific American, and outlets specialized in animal behavior. His popular books - translated into 20+ languages - have made him one of the world's most visible primatologists. His latest two books are Mama’s Last Hug (Norton, 2019) and Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist (Norton, 2022). De Waal is C.H. Candler Professor Emeritus at Emory University and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Utrecht University. He has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences as well as the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2007, Time declared him one of The Worlds’ 100 Most Influential People Today.
The Falmouth Forum is supported by the Falmouth Forum Endowment, the Bakalar Endowed Director's Discretionary Fund, and The Falmouth Fund of The Cape Cod Foundation.
About the Michael Mizell Memorial Public History Lecture
The Michael Mizell Public History Lecture is held in memory of Michael Mizell-Nelson, associate professor of history at the University of New Orleans and son of the late MBL scientist Merle Mizell. Michael was a leader in the application of digital technologies to study public history. His projects included the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank, “Streetcar Stories," the histories of the New Orleans streetcar system, the po-boy sandwich, and the Russian cake. Michael died of cancer in 2014. At the time of his passing, he had begun collaboration with the History of MBL Project on the history of the leper colony on nearby Penikese Island and its connection to the federal leper hospital in Carville, Louisiana.
A book signing will follow the presentation. Books available for purchase on event night from Eight Cousins Books.
Lectures are free and open to the public. Masking is optional. No registration required for in-person attendance. Doors open at 7:00 PM, lectures begin at 7:30 PM.
If you would like to attend virtually, please click the link below.
*Note: this lecture will not be recorded
