Darwin’s cultural artefact

What do we mean by “a cultural artefact”? An artefact is anything made by a human being.  In order to learn about ancient societies, archaeologists unearth artefacts from the past, such as tools or works of art.  But this assignment requires that you locate an artefact about Darwin from our current culture (we suggest you use the 21st century as your chronological limit, i.e. you are looking for something produced in the last 20 years). You can find such artefacts in magazines, newspaper articles, museums, posters, books, television ads, movies, cartoons, music, toys and other collectibles, and in many other cultural sites.

  

How to find a cultural artefact: This is up to you! You may use the internet to search for these artefacts but you may also find them as you move about in your day to day lives.  We are surrounded by cultural artefacts.  Your task is to find one from the list above that relates to Darwin or obviously Darwinian concepts and that is still in circulation today.  

For the purposes of doing this assignment you might think of yourself as if you were an alien visiting the earth, trying to understand its culture.  What would that alien make of any artefacts it found having to do with Darwin?  What would this alien think this artefact tells us about how our culture views Darwin today?  In other words, what clues does this artefact give us as to Darwin’s current cultural significance?

 You will need to have a digital image of your artefact. In your essay, first identify your artefact, giving information about date, authorship, original audience or purpose. Second, interpret your artefact and evaluate its significance. For example, what personal or scientific characteristics does it attribute to Darwin (positively or negatively)? How? What aspects of evolutionary theory does it highlight (accurately or inaccurately)? How? Thirdly, speculate on what this artefact tells us about our own day – when and where and why do we invoke Darwin and Darwinian ideas today?

Questions to ask yourself as you develop your analysis of the cultural artefact you have located:

Who has produced this artefact and what is its physical form, and how does knowing this help us understand what it says about current cultural attitudes towards Darwin?

For whom was this artefact produced?

How has this artefact been circulated and has its meaning changed in the process of being circulated?

Does this artefact present Darwin or his ideas in a positive or negative light? Does it present Darwinian concepts accurately or inaccurately?

What social, political, cultural, or ideological views, if any, does this artefact associate with Darwin?