In the early century, Charles Darwin published his book on the origin of species species American promoter unveiled a new attraction at his popular Museum. Visitors were told that the creature had been captured by hunters in Africa who discovered a race of beings roving among the tree sand branches like Eames and monkeys. Museum staff declared that the creature had been pronounced by scientists as a connecting link between African blacks and lower animals.

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject Art - History of Art, grade: 2,3, University of Lisbon, language: English, abstract: This paper analyzes the beginnings of the so-called "human zoos" in the late 19th and early 20th century and whether there are still continuities of these practices in the present world. What are the consequences, what are the impacts? It will further look into the example of Sarah Baartman, who was objectified and exhibited 1810 to 1815, in order to illustrate the horrible fates of people on display in Europe. Are human beings still exhibited and exploited in the way they used to be? The South African Artist Brett Bailey made an attempt to spread awareness of the highly popular human zoos with his show Exhibit B. The show was received very controversial by the public and in London the show even had to be cancelled due to the dimensions of the protests. The question is whether by re-creating scenes of slavery his show is able to provide a critique of racism and human-zoos or whether it is a mere reproduction of human zoos that is racist in itself. It is in the nature of human kind to be curious and to observe things that are new to the eye. Only by observation can be recognized whether something is a danger or not. The unusual thus always exerts a strong appeal to the observer. The "exotic" has always attracted attention. This even more when an unfamiliar looking or "exotic" human being is concerned, a being that seems very familiar to the viewer and possibly even shows him similarities to himself. This is one of the reasons why "wild people" have been displayed at fun fairs and exhibitions during centuries, and since traveling was dangerous or not possible at all and a worldwide media network did not exist, these exhibitions were often the only opportunity to see people from far away in real life. It is hardly surprising that this natural interest in the stranger has quickly been utilized by some people for their own benefit, wheth

Human Zoos offers a fascinating, sobering and macabre tour of man's exploitation of man--that is, Western man's exploitation of non-Western men and women--as recorded throughout the early history of photography, from the 1860s to the 1930s and the invention of "humane exhibiting" of nonwhite persons. Freak shows, the circuses of Buffalo Bill and P.T. Barnum and European colonial exhibitions provided the occasions for most of these images, several of which were incorporated into posters, postcards and other ephemera, designed with an improbable jauntiness. Human Zoos traces the evolution of such paradigmatic conceptions as "specimen," "savage" and "native" for the designation of peoples as various as Native Americans, Asians and Africans from all corners of the continent. As horrific and compelling as it is brilliantly researched and compiled, this volume unflinchingly surveys the very recent history of the West's arrogant abuse of those deemed to fall outside its brutal terms of civilization.

"Human zoos, forgotten symbols of the colonial era, have been totally repressed in our collective memory. In these 'anthropo-zoological' exhibitions, 'exotic' individuals were placed alongside wild beasts and presented behind bars or in enclosures. Human zoos were a key factor, however, in the progressive shift in the West from scientific to popular racism. Beginning with the early nineteenth-century European exhibition of the Hottentot Venus, this volume underlines the ways in which these exhibitions affected the lives of tens of millions of visitors, from London to New York, from Warsaw to Milan, from Moscow to Tokyo." "Human Zoos puts into perspective the 'spectacularization' of the Other, a process that is at the origin of contemporary stereotypes and of the construction of our own identities. This is a unique book on a crucial phenomenon, which takes us to the heart of Western fantasies and allows us to understand the genesis of identity in Japan, Europe and North America."--BOOK JACKET.

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject Art - History of Art, grade: 2,3, University of Lisbon, language: English, abstract: This paper analyzes the beginnings of the so-called „human zoos“ in the late 19th and early 20th century and whether there are still continuities of these practices in the present world. What are the consequences, what are the impacts? It will further look into the example of Sarah Baartman, who was objectified and exhibited 1810 to 1815, in order to illustrate the horrible fates of people on display in Europe. Are human beings still exhibited and exploited in the way they used to be? The South African Artist Brett Bailey made an attempt to spread awareness of the highly popular human zoos with his show Exhibit B. The show was received very controversial by the public and in London the show even had to be cancelled due to the dimensions of the protests. The question is whether by re-creating scenes of slavery his show is able to provide a critique of racism and human-zoos or whether it is a mere reproduction of human zoos that is racist in itself. It is in the nature of human kind to be curious and to observe things that are new to the eye. Only by observation can be recognized whether something is a danger or not. The unusual thus always exerts a strong appeal to the observer. The "exotic" has always attracted attention. This even more when an unfamiliar looking or "exotic" human being is concerned, a being that seems very familiar to the viewer and possibly even shows him similarities to himself. This is one of the reasons why "wild people" have been displayed at fun fairs and exhibitions during centuries, and since traveling was dangerous or not possible at all and a worldwide media network did not exist, these exhibitions were often the only opportunity to see people from far away in real life. It is hardly surprising that this natural interest in the stranger has quickly been utilized by some people for their own benefit, whether to generate attention, to demonstrate power or to generate economic profits.

At the dawn of the last century, leading scientists and politicians giddily predicted that science—especially Darwinian biology—would supply solutions to all the intractable problems of American society, from crime to poverty to sexual maladjustment. Instead, politics and culture were dehumanized as scientific experts began treating human beings as little more than animals or machines. In criminal justice, these experts denied the existence of free will and proposed replacing punishment with invasive “cures” such as the lobotomy. In welfare, they proposed eliminating the poor by sterilizing those deemed biologically unfit. In business, they urged the selection of workers based on racist theories of human evolution and the development of advertising methods to more effectively manipulate consumer behavior. In sex education, they advocated creating a new sexual morality based on “normal mammalian behavior” without regard to longstanding ethical and religious imperatives. Based on extensive research with primary sources and archival materials, John G. West’s captivating Darwin Day in America tells the story of how American public policy has been corrupted by scientistic ideology. Marshaling fascinating anecdotes and damning quotations, West’s narrative explores the far-reaching consequences for society when scientists and politicians deny the essential differences between human beings and the rest of nature. It also exposes the disastrous results that ensue when experts claiming to speak for science turn out to be wrong. West concludes with a powerful plea for the restoration of democratic accountability in an age of experts.

"A powerful, complex, and fascinating coming-of-age novel." -- Costa Book Award PanelA boy and a girl in the Philippine jungle must confront what coming of age will mean to their friendship made even more complicated when Americans invade their country. Samkad lives deep in the Philippine jungle, and has never encountered anyone from outside his own tribe before. He's about to become a man, and while he's desperate to grow up, he's worried that this will take him away from his best friend, Little Luki, who isn't ready for the traditions and ceremonies of being a girl in her tribe.But when a bad omen sends Samkad's life in another direction, he discovers the brother he never knew he had. A brother who tells him of a people called "Americans." A people who are bringing war and destruction right to their home...A coming-of-age story set at the end of the 19th century in a remote village in the Philippines, this is a story about growing up, discovering yourself, and the impact of colonialism on native peoples and their lives.