Anthropologist to Discuss Evolution of Skin Color

On Monday, Dec. 4, Bryn Mawr will welcome Nina Jablonski '75 back to the College. Jablonski, a professor and chair of anthropology at the Pennsylvania State University, will give a lecture titled "The Evolution of Skin Color" and sign copies of her book Skin: A Natural History, recently published by the University of California Press. The event will take place in Dalton 300, from 4 to 6 p.m.

Jablonski, who served from 1994 until this year as the Irvine Chair and Curator of the Department of Anthropology at the California Academy of Sciences, developed the first comprehensive theory of skin color with her husband and research partner, George Chaplin. Their much-cited paper on the topic explains the long-observed correlation between climate and skin color as an adaptation related to the effects of sunlight on body chemicals important to pregnancy and lactation. In addition to numerous academic publications, her work has been featured in such popular science publications as Discover, Scientific American and National Geographic.

In 2005, Jablonski was awarded the Alphonse Fletcher Sr. Fellowship for her work in improving public understanding of the biological and social meaning of skin color. The Fletcher Fellowships were created to support "work that contributes to improving race relations in American society and furthers the broad social goals of the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954." Jablonski was among the first group of 12 fellows.

Jablonski's new book, described by Publishers Weekly as an "amply illustrated rhapsody to the body's largest and most visible organ," is written for a lay readership as well. Says the San Francisco Chronicle: "Jablonski has an endearing sense of humor that keeps the narrative nimble as it delivers surprisingly dense lessons on anatomy, biochemistry, physiology and sociology. … A fascinating read."

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