The Future of Education

Currently, our knowledge of early human evolution is being reshaped. Genomic research has shown that early Homo sapiens interbred with Neanderthals and a few other archaic humans; archaeological explorations have discovered several new species [1]. Such findings add to the increasingly complex image in science of the human and human evolution. The aim of this paper is to analyze the knowledge production of early human evolution in museums as a question for Giroux’s concept of ‘public pedagogy’ [2], focusing on the conceptual discussion on models and metaphors depicting our origin. The theoretical approach is based on posthuman philosopher Donna Haraway’s [3] concept of natureculture and her idea of categories as ‘boundary projects’. Feminist philosopher Elizabeth Grosz [4] argued that the categorization of species is an intricate part of the way we perceive our origin and that there are no natural species before we draw the line between them. The main data collection derives from ethnographic studies at ten natural history museums and historical museums in Europe and Asia displaying exhibitions of early human evolution. From the analysis, three visual models stood out: March of Progress, the phylogenetic tree model, and the emerging braided stream model. The analysis of the three models shows that they represent a variety of linearity or multiplicity. In the emerging braided stream model, we notice an increase in complexity and a capability of handling issues of inclusion, interbreeding, and uncertainty. The paper calls for more initiated discussions on the models of evolution in the public sphere.

Keywords: Public pedagogy, human evolution, museums;

References:
[1] Stringer, C. (2016). The origin and evolution of Homo Sapiens. Philosophical Transactions Royal Society B, 371, 1–12.
[2] Giroux, H. (2003). Public Pedagogy and the Politics of Resistance: Notes on a critical theory of educational struggle. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 35(1), 5–16.
[3] Haraway, Donna (2003). The companion species manifesto: dogs, people and significant otherness. Chicago: Prickly Paradigm.
[4] Grosz, E. (2004). The nick of time: Politics, evolution and the untimely. Durham: Duke University Press.