Article ID: CBB369791311

Sociobiology on Screen. The Controversy Through the Lens of Sociobiology: Doing What Comes Naturally (2023)

unapi

When the sociobiology debate erupted in 1975, there were almost too many contributions to the heated exchanges between sociobiologists and their critics to count. In the fall of 1976, a Canadian educational film entitled Sociobiology: Doing What Comes Naturally sparked further controversy due to its graphic visuals and outrageous narration. While critics claimed the film was a promotional tool to further the sociobiological agenda in educational settings, sociobiologists quickly distanced themselves from the film and, in turn, accused the critics of consciously misrepresenting sociobiology by organizing showings of the film. Using audio, video, archival, and published sources, this paper explores the complicated history of Sociobiology: Doing What Comes Naturally and demonstrates how the public debate about the film reflects the positions, polemics, and polarization of the sociobiology debate as a whole.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB369791311/

Similar Citations

Article Clement Levallois; (2018)
The Development of Sociobiology in Relation to Animal Behavior Studies, 1946–1975 (/isis/citation/CBB162818555/)

Thesis Panofsky, Aaron Leon; (2006)
Fielding Controversy: The Genesis and Structure of Behavior Genetics (/isis/citation/CBB001560772/)

Article Alex Dennis; (2018)
The Strange Survival and Apparent Resurgence of Sociobiology (/isis/citation/CBB148289676/)

Article Depew, David J.; (2010)
Darwinian Controversies: An Historiographical Recounting (/isis/citation/CBB001032812/)

Book Segerstråle, Ullica; (2000)
Defenders of the Truth: The Battle for Science in the Sociobiology Debate and Beyond (/isis/citation/CBB000111926/)

Article Clark, Penney; Gleason, Mona; Petrina, Stephen; (2012)
Preschools for Science: The Child Study Centre at the University of British Columbia, 1960--1997 (/isis/citation/CBB001231169/)

Article Larson, Edward J.; Numbers, Ronald L.; (2012)
Creation, Evolution, and the Boundaries of Science: The Debate in the United States (/isis/citation/CBB001320799/)

Article Juliane Scholz; (2021)
Duplicating Nature and Elements of Subjectivity in The Ethology of the Greylag Goose (/isis/citation/CBB815390515/)

Article Eleanor Louson; (2018)
Taking Spectacle Seriously: Wildlife Film and the Legacy of Natural History Display (/isis/citation/CBB664287904/)

Article Christian Reiß; (2021)
Shooting Chicken Embryos: The Making of Ludwig Gräper’s Embryological Films, 1911–1940 (/isis/citation/CBB686860222/)

Article Jesse Olszynko-Gryn; (2021)
Filming Fly Eggs: Time-Lapse Cinematography as an Intermedial Practice (/isis/citation/CBB814333734/)

Article Sarine Waltenspül; (2021)
Reusable and Nonreusable Films: From Ballistic Films to the Encyclopaedia Cinematographica (/isis/citation/CBB091827034/)

Article Anja Sattelmacher; Mario Schulze; Sarine Waltenspül; (2021)
Introduction: Reusing Research Film and the Institute for Scientific Film (/isis/citation/CBB618455905/)

Article Gaycken, Oliver; (2013)
“The Living Picture”: On the Circulation of Microscope-Slide Knowledge in 1903 (/isis/citation/CBB001420750/)

Authors & Contributors
Schulze, Mario
Waltenspül, Sarine
Clark, Penney
Clarke, John
Depew, David J.
Gaycken, Oliver Alexander
Journals
Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences
Canadian Bulletin of Medical History/Bulletin Canadienne d'Histoire de la Medecine
Science in Context
Almagest
Biology and Philosophy
History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences
Publishers
New York University
Oxford University Press
Concepts
Science education and teaching
Science and film
Controversies and disputes
Visual representation; visual communication
Research methods
Sociobiology
People
Wilson, Edward Osborne
Duncan, F. Martin
Hamilton, William Donald
Lorenz, Konrad
Lumsden, Charles J.
Scott, John Paul
Time Periods
20th century
20th century, late
21st century
20th century, early
19th century
Places
Canada
United States
Great Britain
Germany
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment