{{short description|American biological anthropologist (born 1955)}} {{pp-blp|small=yes}} {{Infobox person | name = Jonathan M. Marks | image = <!-- just the filename, without the File: or Image: prefix or enclosing [[brackets]] --> | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Jonathan Mitchell Marks<ref name="LOC">[https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n94051929.html Marks, Jonathan (Jonathan M.), 1955-]" at [[Library of Congress Linked Data Service]].</ref> | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1955|02|08}}<ref name="LOC"/> | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} or {{Death-date and age|Month DD, YYYY|Month DD, YYYY}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Anthropologist | known_for = | awards = W.W. Howells Book Prize<ref>{{Cite web|title=W.W. Howells Book Award|url=http://bas.americananthro.org/awards/w-w-howells-book-award|website=American Anthropological Association: Biological Anthropology Section|date=19 January 2014 }}</ref><br>[[School for Advanced Research#Current programs|J. I. Staley Prize]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=J. I. Staley Prize|url=https://sarweb.org/awards/j-i-staley-prize/|website=School for Advanced Research |date=April 2017 }}</ref><br>First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal<ref name= ScholarsMedal/><br>GAD Prize for Exemplary Cross-Field Scholarship<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|title=Past Winners, GAD Prize for Exemplary Cross-Field Scholarship|url=http://gad.americananthro.org/past-recipients-gad-prize-for-exemplary-cross-field-scholarship/|website=American Anthropological Association: General Anthropology Division |date=26 May 2016 }}</ref> | organization = {{nowrap|[[University of North Carolina at Charlotte]]}}<br />[[Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism]] (Nixon, Nevada) }}
'''Jonathan Mitchell Marks''' (born February 8, 1955) is a professor of [[biological anthropology]] at the [[University of North Carolina at Charlotte]]. He is known for his work comparing the [[genetics]] of [[human]]s and other [[ape]]s, and for his critiques of [[scientific racism]], [[biological determinism]], and what he argues is an overemphasis on scientific [[rationalism]] in anthropology. He is a fellow of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Jonathan Marks|url=https://anthropology.uncc.edu/node/131|website=UNC Charlotte, Department of Anthropology}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Born in 1955, Marks studied at the [[Johns Hopkins University]] in [[Baltimore]] and took graduate degrees in [[genetics]] and [[anthropology]] from the [[University of Arizona]], completing his [[doctorate]] in 1984.<ref name="auto"/>
When Marks was beginning his career, few anthropologists held degrees in genetics.<ref name=":0" /> ''The Charlotte Observer'' quotes him as saying, “Twenty-five years ago I was sort of avant garde. Now it’s much more common.”<ref name=":0" />
==Career== Marks is a leading figure in anthropology, especially when it comes to public discussions of race.<ref name="Aero2019">Moser, Cody. [https://areomagazine.com/2019/01/18/is-science-racist-book-review/ “Is Science Racist?” Book Review]. Aero. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.</ref> His work has been praised by scholars such as [[Alondra Nelson]], [[Agustín Fuentes]], and [[Barbara J. King]].<ref name="Aero2019" />
Marks did post-doctoral research in the genetics department at [[UC-Davis]] from 1984 to 1987, then taught at [[Yale]] for ten years and [[University of California, Berkeley|Berkeley]] for three, before settling in [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] where he is now a professor at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web | url=http://anthropology.uncc.edu/sites/anthropology.uncc.edu/files/media/JONCV.pdf | title=Jonathan M. (Jon) Marks | website=anthropology.uncc.edu}}</ref>
Marks has also served on the board of directors of the [[Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism]], [[Nixon, Nevada]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ipcb.org/|title=Indigenous People's Council on Biocolonialism|website=ipcb.org}}</ref>
He was elected to a fellow of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] in 2006.<ref name=":1" />
In 2009, Santa Fe's [[School for Advanced Research]] awarded him its J. I. Staley Prize for his book ''What It Means to be 98% Chimpanzee:'' ''Apes, People and their Genes.'' In their award citation, the review panel noted that the book "is being read across anthropological disciplines" and "engages with issues directly relevant to the future of humanity."<ref name=":2"/>
He received the First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal in 2012, honoring his career of intellectual inquiry.<ref name="ScholarsMedal" />
Since then he has been a Templeton Fellow (2013–2014) and a Director's Fellow (2019–2020) at the [[University of Notre Dame]]'s Institute for Advanced Study,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jonathan Marks|url=https://ndias.nd.edu/fellows/marks-jonathan/|website=Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study}}</ref> and a visiting research fellow at the [[Max Planck Institute for the History of Science]] in Berlin and at the ESRC Genomics Forum at the [[University of Edinburgh]].<ref name=":1" />
== Views== Marks' 2002 book ''What it Means to be 98% Chimpanzee'' argued that there is a significant gap between scientists' knowledge of genetics and their understanding of its functional significance.<ref name= ScholarsMedal/><ref name=":2" /> In opposition to [[biological determinism]], Marks explores evidence for synergy between genetic and cultural factors in shaping human traits such as body shape, school performance, athleticism, and even menstrual cycles.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Madrigal|first=Lorena|date=October 2002|title=Review: What it Means to Be 98% Chimpanzee: Apes, People, and Their Genes|journal=American Journal of Human Genetics|volume=71|issue=4|pages=1000–1001|doi=10.1086/342665|pmc=529329}}</ref>
Marks' published works include many scholarly articles and essays. He is an outspoken critic of [[scientific racism]], and has prominently argued against the idea that "[[Race (classification of human beings)|race]]" is a natural category. In Marks's view, "race" is a negotiation between patterns of [[biological]] variation and patterns of perceived difference. He argues that race and human diversity are different subjects, and do not map on to one another well.<ref name="ScholarsMedal">{{Cite web|last=Thornton|first=Lisa|date=2012-04-27|title=Jonathan Marks honored by UNCC for anthropology work|url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/community/university-city/article9079790.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617161603/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/community/university-city/article9079790.html|archive-date=2016-06-17|website=[[The Charlotte Observer]]}}</ref> This view is now the stated consensus of the [[American Association of Biological Anthropologists]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|date=2019-03-27|title=AAPA Statement on Race & Racism|url=https://physanth.org/about/position-statements/aapa-statement-race-and-racism-2019/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322034009/https://physanth.org/about/position-statements/aapa-statement-race-and-racism-2019/|archive-date=2020-03-22|access-date=2021-04-09|website=physanth.org}}</ref>
As described in his book ''Is Science Racist?'', Marks considers science to have four epistemic qualities: [[Naturalism (philosophy)|naturalism]], [[experimentalism]], [[rationalism]], and a primary value on [[Accuracy and precision|accuracy]].<ref name=Aero2019/> In this book and in ''Why I Am Not a Scientist'', he argues that anthropologists have an ambiguous relationship with science because their goal of illuminating the human condition requires both scientific and [[Humanism|humanistic]] frameworks.<ref name=Aero2019/>
In reference to the titles of his books, Marks has stated that "he would like it to be known, for the record, that he is about 98% scientist, and not a chimpanzee."<ref name=":1" />
==Selected works== * ''Evolutionary Anthropology'', with Edward Staski (1991). {{ISBN|978-0030237324}}. * ''Human Biodiversity'' (1995). {{ISBN|3110148552}}. * ''What It Means to be 98% Chimpanzee: Apes, People and their Genes'' (2002). {{ISBN|0520240642}}. * ''Why I Am Not a Scientist'' (2009). {{ISBN|0520259602}}. * ''The Alternative Introduction to Biological Anthropology'' (2010). {{ISBN|0195157036}}. * ''Tales of the Ex-Apes: How We Think about Human Evolution'' (2015). {{ISBN|0520285824}}. * ''Is Science Racist?'' (2017). {{ISBN|978-0745689227}}.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://somatosphere.net/2009/08/jonathan-marks-why-i-am-not-scientist.html Blog review of Why I Am Not a Scientist] *[https://anthropology.uncc.edu/node/131 Faculty page, UNCC] *[https://anthropomics2.blogspot.com personal blog]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Jonathan}} [[Category:1955 births]] [[Category:American anthropologists]] [[Category:Johns Hopkins University alumni]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:University of Arizona alumni]] [[Category:University of California, Berkeley faculty]] [[Category:University of California, Davis alumni]] [[Category:University of North Carolina at Charlotte faculty]] [[Category:Yale University faculty]]