Santiago Genovés (31 December 1923 – 5 September 2013) was a Spanish-born Mexican anthropologist who was affiliated with the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

. He is known for designing the 1973 "Peace Project" experiment, in which he and ten other people (four men and six women) aimed to sail on the

Acali The ''Acali'' expedition (or ''Acali'' experiment) was a 1973 social experiment that aimed to investigate interpersonal relationships in conditions of limited space and social isolation. The experiment was conceived by Mexican anthropologist Santi ...

raft A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barrel ...

from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He hoped that this experiment would shed light on the causes of

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...

in humans and on how it could be prevented. The 101-day experiment, frequently dubbed the "Sex Raft" by the media, was the subject of the 2018

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

''The Raft'', by Marcus Lindeen. He was also one of the researchers who originated, co-authored and signed the

Seville Statement on Violence The Seville Statement on Violence is a statement on violence that was adopted by an international meeting of scientists, convened by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO, in Seville, Spain, on 16 May 1986. It was subsequently adopted by UNESC ...

in 1986. Prior to the "Peace Project", Genovés had been part of the Thor Heyerdahl Ra expedition.

References

1923 births 2013 deaths People from Ourense Spanish emigrants to Mexico Mexican anthropologists National School of Anthropology and History alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge National Autonomous University of Mexico faculty {{Anthropologist-stub