TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2011//
TI  - Popularizing the ancestry of man: Robert Ardrey and the killer instinct
JO  - Isis; an international review devoted to the history of science and its cultural influences
A1  - Weidman, Nadine
SP  - 269
EP  - 299
VL  - 102
IS  - 2
N2  - This essay examines Robert Ardrey (1908-1980)-American playwright, screenwriter, and prolific author-as a case study in the popularization of science. Bringing together evidence from both paleoanthropology and ethology, Ardrey became in the 1960s a vocal proponent of the theory that human beings are innately violent. The essay shows that Ardrey used his popular scientific books not only to consolidate a new science of human nature but also to question the popularizer's standard role, to reverse conventional hierarchies of scientific expertise, and to test the boundaries of professional scientific authority. Understanding how he did this can help us reassess the meanings and uses of popular science as critique in Cold War America. The essay also shows that E. O. Wilson's sociobiology was in part a reaction to the subversive political message of Ardrey's science.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0021-1753
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -