Dawn Prince-Hughes (born January 31, 1964 in

Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson and Williamson Counties, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". The city developed from 1853 because of the stimulation of railroad construction into the ...

) is an American

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

, primatologist, and

ethologist Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objective ...

who received her M.A. and PhD in

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

from the Universität Herisau in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. In 2000 she was appointed an adjunct professor at

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...

. She is the executive chair of ApeNet Inc., has served as the executive director of the Institute for Cognitive Archaeological Research and is associated with the

Jane Goodall Institute The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) is a global wildlife and environment conservation organization headquartered in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1977 by English primatologist Jane Goodall. The institute has offices in more than twenty-five coun ...

. Prince-Hughes is the author of ''Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism'', ''Gorillas Among Us: A Primate Ethnographer's Book of Days'', ''Expecting Teryk: An Exceptional Path to Parenthood'', ''The Archetype of the Ape-man: The Phenomenological Archaeology of a Relic Hominid Ancestor'', ''Adam'', and the editor of ''Aquamarine Blue 5: Personal Stories of College Students with Autism''. Her book, ''Passing As Human/Freak Nation: How I Discovered That No One Is Normal'' was released in December 2009 and ''Circus of Souls: How I Discovered We Are All Freaks Passing as Normal'' was published in 2013.

Theories

As a young adult, Prince-Hughes was employed at Seattle's

Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo is a wildlife conservation organization and zoological garden located in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the recipient of over 65 awards across multiple categories, and had served appro ...

. She watched how

silverback Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

male

gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

s cared for their families and

paternal A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

ly intervened to resolve conflicts, thereby setting the tone for community

behavior Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as wel ...

. She came to conclude anger often stems from embarrassment, and humor is a natural response to fear. Prince-Hughes challenges the predominant scientific

paradigm In science and philosophy, a paradigm () is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitute legitimate contributions to a field. Etymology ''Paradigm'' comes f ...

, which says the nature of mankind's cognitive processes is clearly distinct from that of other

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

s. She has formulated several contrarian scientific conclusions, including her assertion that

Bonobo The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the comm ...

chimpanzees can speak

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

if one just learns to understand the accent.

Literary works

In ''Songs of the Gorilla Nation'', Prince-Hughes describes how she learned techniques to manage her

Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in Interpersonal relationship, social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and re ...

from experiences observing and interacting with gorillas at the Woodland Park Zoo. In ''Gorilla Nation'', she explores how working with gorillas helped her escape her

social isolation Social isolation is a state of complete or near-complete lack of contact between an individual and society. It differs from loneliness, which reflects temporary and involuntary lack of contact with other humans in the world. Social isolation c ...

. Asperger syndrome may be accompanied by difficulties processing

stimuli A stimulus is something that causes a physiological response. It may refer to: * Stimulation ** Stimulus (physiology), something external that influences an activity ** Stimulus (psychology), a concept in behaviorism and perception * Stimulus (eco ...

, sensory sensitivity, and social awkwardness. As suggested by the title, which speaks of a "nation" of gorillas, the author conveys view of the world from the perspective of

s, effectively demonstrating how people and gorillas are subsumed emotionally, socially, and spiritually under the same

rubric A rubric is a word or section of text that is traditionally written or printed in red ink for emphasis. The word derives from the la, rubrica, meaning red ochre or red chalk, and originates in Medieval illuminated manuscripts from the 13th cent ...

. ''Expecting Teryk'' follows Dawn and her partner's journey from meeting and connecting to becoming parents. ''Gorillas Among Us'' compresses Prince-Hughes' many years of observing captive gorillas through an enclosure—visitors usually average only a few seconds—into a diary chronicling the lives of one gorilla family. She creates a blended portrait of both peoples—gorilla and human.

Publications

* ''The Archetype of the Ape-man: The Phenomenological Archaeology of a Relic Hominid Ancestor'', 2000, * ''Adam'', 2001, * ''Gorillas Among Us: A Primate Ethnographer's Book of Days'', 2001, * ''Aquamarine Blue 5: Personal Stories of College Students with Autism'' (editor), 2002, * ''Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism'', 2004, * ''Expecting Teryk: An Exceptional Path to Parenthood'', 2005, (hbk), (pbk) * ''Circus of Souls: How I Discovered We are All Freaks Passing as Normal '', 2013,

References

External links

Arizona.edu
- ''Gorillas among Us: A Primate Ethnographer's Book of Days'' (introductory chapter excerpt), Dawn Prince-Hughes (April 19, 2001)

- "The Memory Tribe", Dawn Prince-Hughes, Poetic Genius Society (July/August, 2001)
NWSource.com
- "One day, a gorilla touched her soul", Jennifer Langston'',

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...

'' (April 17, 2004)
WesternFrontOnline.com
- "Author demands human rights for gorillas", Amber Hurley, ''The Western Front'',

(January 28, 2002) ;Audio links
LOE.org
- "Gorilla Therapy: Dawn Prince-Hughes talks about her new book, ''Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey through Autism''" (August 13, 2004) {{DEFAULTSORT:Prince-Hughes, Dawn 1964 births American anthropologists American women anthropologists Ethologists American lesbian writers LGBT scientists from the United States Living people People with Asperger syndrome American women biologists Women primatologists Primatologists 21st-century American biologists 21st-century American women 21st-century LGBT people

Theories

Literary works

Publications

See also

References

External links