472. The Endless Quest to Define Humanity: Exploring Prehistory feat. Stefanos Geroulanos

Historically, how were narratives used around race, species, and the beliefs of Western civilization? What have been the contemporary implications for those earlier societal beliefs?

Stefanos Geroulanos is the director of the Remarque Institute, a professor of history at New York University, and the author of several books. His latest book is called The Invention of Prehistory: Empire, Violence, and Our Obsession with Human Origins. 

Greg and Stefanos discuss the complexities of defining human nature and the role of prehistory in understanding humanity's origins. Stefanos explores the ongoing debates about human progress, the impact of scientific discoveries like new fossils, and the culturally loaded interpretations of those findings. 

They also discuss how perspectives on indigenous populations and humanity's past are shaped by evolving scientific interpretations and narrative constructions, highlighting the intersection of science and politics in the research of human origins.

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

• Tacitus
• Charles Darwin
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Thomas Hobbes
• Napoleon Chagnon
• The Dawn of Everything
• Jane Goodall
• Max Müller
• Maurice Olender
• Raymond Dart
• Neanderthal
• The Clan of the Cave Bear
• Gustav Victor Rudolf Born
• Memento mori
• Ozymandias
• Adam Smith

Guest Profile:

• Stefanos-Geroulanos.com
• Faculty Profile at NYU

His Work:

• Amazon Author Page
• The Invention of Prehistory: Empire, Violence, and Our Obsession with Human Origins
• Transparency in Postwar France: A Critical History of the Present
• Th