# How Not To Be Human: Exploring Humanity Through Science Fiction

- Institution: Gresham College
- Speaker: Professor Jim Endersby
- Year: 2021
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Biology, History, Literature and writing, Art, architecture and design
- Source: [Gresham College](https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/series/science-fiction)
- Licence: [Educational use (Gresham College's terms)](https://www.gresham.ac.uk/terms-and-conditions)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

Because apes seem most like humans, science fiction has used them as a mirror in which to view ourselves. The philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau saw in orangutans the original, natural man, uncorrupted by society. Meanwhile most of his contemporaries used apes to embody racially charged fantasies of bestial brutality. These conflicting views shaped the numerous versions of King Kong and the Planet of the Apes films, which the lecture will use to look at evolving images of humanity.

## Lectures

1. [Apes in Science Fiction](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/gresham/series-science-fiction/f34e457abff3) (YouTube)
2. [Women in Science Fiction](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/gresham/series-science-fiction/54f9ffe2e227) (YouTube)
3. [Robots in Science Fiction](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/gresham/series-science-fiction/18d1d6bfb982) (YouTube)
4. [Aliens in Science Fiction](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/gresham/series-science-fiction/1fe7f1e7e02e) (YouTube)