SKIN DEEP

A STUDY GUIDE by marguerite o’hara

http://www.metromagazine.com.au

http://www.theeducationshop.com.au What does our skin colour The background information and the tell us about ourselves and + fact sheet about skin (which appear where we come from? later in this guide) are important for Curriculum guidelines introducing the topic and summarising The skin is the largest some of the main areas investigated organ of the body. Skin Deep would be suitable for in the documentary. Teachers could middle and secondary students of: select from the student activities in this We know that sunlight can • Biology guide, which move from understanding burn our skin, and that the science of skin to discussing its • General Science broader implications. various creams and make- • SOSE/HSIE up can change its colour • Health and Human Development Synopsis and tone, but how much do • Psychology we really know about why For hundreds of years, colour has been used as a marker of our skin comes in so many race. Now, science is uncovering the colours and shades? What he documentary explores how intricate relationship between skin causes skin colour and long-term scientific study has colour and environment. When our how does it determine our Tunlocked the mystery of the ancient ancestors in Equatorial Africa range of skin colour in . This lost their body and ventured out sense of identity? Is skin is a ‘science mystery’ film that poses into the open savannah, their skin had colour simply a matter of questions, offers answers and then to become dark to resist strong UV your ancestors’ birthplace moves deeper into the science to un- radiation. Perfectly adapted to the en- and its distance from the derstand the widely accepted notions vironment, the black skin of Africans is of skin colour as an indicator of human one of nature’s greatest achievements equator, or is there a more adaptation to different environments. in ensuring the survival of the human complex explanation? species. For centuries, skin colour was essen- tially considered as a marker of race; This may not sound new, but in 2000 this program shows that many of our Penn State University anthropologist assumptions about skin colour are of- Nina Jablonski put forward a startling ten too simple or wrong. The program new explanation as to why human is a fascinating and accessible scien- skin has so many colours. Her study SCREEN EDUCATION tific and sociological study, as colourful suggested that pigmentation did not and absorbing as the variety of skin evolve to prevent skin cancer, but pri- colours it investigates. marily to help the human body main- tain the right balance of two crucial

2 Prof Keith Cheng

Skin Deep crew with Nina Jablonski Dr Carles Lalueza Fox Dr Michael Holick

Background information The filmmakers Dr Michael Holick – Professor of Skin Deep is a co-production The participants Medicine, Physiology and Biophys- between Electric Pictures (Australia) ics; director of the General Clinical and DocLab (Italy). Several eminent researchers from a va- Research Unit and director of the Bone The documentary runs for 52 minutes riety of specialised fields appear in this Health Care Clinic and the Heliothera- documentary, most notably Nina Jab- py, Light and Skin Research Centre at Director lonski, who has devoted many years Boston University Medical Centre. Franco Di Chiera of study and collaborative work to Writers and researchers the study of the of skin. The Dr Holick determined the mechanism Barbara Bernardini, Greg Colgan and experts telling this story come from the for how is synthesised in the Franco Di Chiera USA, Spain and Australia. Research skin, and demonstrated the effects Producers often involves collaborating across of aging, obesity, latitude, seasonal continents and across a number of change, sunscreen use, skin pigmenta- Marco Visalberghi, Andrew Ogilvie and Andrea Quesnelle scientific and medical specialties. tion and clothing on this vital cutane- ous process. He has established global Executive producers Nina Jablonski – Professor and Head recommendations advising sunlight Andrew Ogilvie and Marco Visalberghi of , Penn State University, exposure as a key source of vitamin D. Editors USA. He has also helped increase aware- David Fosdick and Lawrie Silvestrin ness in the paediatric and medical A biological anthropologist and palaeo- communities regarding vitamin D Director of photography biologist, Jablonski studies the evolution deficiency and its role in causing meta- Torstein Dyrting of adaptations to the environment in bolic bone disease and osteoporosis non-human and human . She in adults as well as increasing the risk has worked to shed light on the nature to adults and children of developing a vitamins essential for reproduction and of ‘successful’ and ‘unsuccessful’ ana- range of diseases. body development. As a result, skin tomical and physiological adaptations to colour developed as a perfect compro- the environment through time. In the last Professor Keith Cheng – Director of mise, allowing enough sunlight in to fifteen years, she has been increasingly Experimental Pathology at Penn State stimulate the production of vitamin D, absorbed in studies of the evolution of College of Medicine. but screening the body from harmful human skin and skin colour. Her 2006 rays that destroy folic acid – a vitamin book Skin: A Natural History (Univer- Cheng has been a leader in genetics necessary for reproductive success. sity of California Press) won the W.W. and genomics, using the zebrafish Howells Book Award of the American to study cancer. In the course of this Focusing on ground-breaking research Anthropological Association. work he discovered SLC24A5, which and accounts from scientists around appears to have played a key role in the world, this documentary reveals Dr Carles Lalueza-Fox – Barcelona the evolution of in people that the evolution of skin colour is sole- Institute of Evolutionary Biology. of European ancestry. He is keen to ly an adaptation to the environment. contribute to the demystification of It drives home a powerful message: Best known for his work on the skin colour and race, which he hopes SCREEN EDUCATION judging people on the basis of colour Neanderthals, Lalueza-Fox works on will diminish racism. is not only morally unacceptable, it is paleogenetic puzzles. He is currently scientifically wrong. working on the Neanderthal Genome Project.

3 Biasutti records skin colour

Prof Fiona Stanley

Professor Fiona Stanley – Director of Albinism – an almost total lack of mel- – Folic acid, one of the B vita- the Telethon Institute for Child Health anin caused by a major DNA malfunc- mins that is a key factor in the synthe- Research in Perth and professor in the tion. With no natural defence against sis (the making) of nucleic acid (DNA School of Pediatrics and Child Health the sun’s rays, people with albinism and RNA) and which is commonly at the University of Western Australia. run a 1000-fold risk of developing skin found in leafy green vegetables and cancer compared to those with darker whole grains. Lack of adequate folic In 2003, Stanley was Australian of the skin. acid during pregnancy has been found Year. While she trained and worked to increase the risk of the baby having as a medical doctor, her move into Vitamin D – vitamin D promotes ab- a birth defect involving the spinal cord research was prompted by a desire to sorption and use of calcium and phos- and brain, i.e. a neural tube defect prevent – rather than to simply treat phate for healthy bones and teeth. The such as spina bifida or anencephaly. – many of the recurring conditions main source of vitamin D is the sun. that she saw in children, particularly Anthropology – the scientific study in those from disadvantaged environ- Vitamin D is found in milk (fortified), of the origin, behaviour, and physical, ments. She has established a number cheese, whole eggs, liver, salmon and social and cultural development of of comprehensive databases that track fortified margarine. The skin can syn- humans. maternal and child health. This has en- thesise vitamin D if exposed to enough abled her and her Institute colleagues sunlight on a regular basis. Adaptation – the adjustment of an to look at the causes and prevention organism to its environment, or the of birth defects and major neurologi- Calcium – A chemical element es- process by which it enhances such cal disorders such as cerebral palsies sential for the normal development fitness. and neural tube defects, research that and functioning of the body, typically resulted in a worldwide campaign to present in the blood at a concentra- encourage women to take folate prior tion of about 10mg/100ml. Calcium to and during pregnancy. is an important constituent of bones and teeth, and it is essential for many Key terms metabolic processes, including nerve function, muscle contraction and blood Skin colour – infinite variations from clotting. dark to light, mostly brown and beiges. There is no such thing as truly red, UVA and UVB rays – the sun emits yellow, black or white in skin colour. radiation in the UVA, UVB Rather there is an infinitely graded and UVC bands. The earth’s ozone spectrum of shades from dark to light. layer stops 97 to 99 per cent of this UV radiation from penetrating through – the main determinant of skin the atmosphere. 98.7 per cent of the colour. There are two types of pig- ultraviolet radiation that reaches the ments, eumelanin, which is brown or earth’s surface is UVA. While we need black, and pheomelanin, which is red a certain amount of UV light to pen- SCREEN EDUCATION or yellow. The relative amount of these etrate our skins, too much can result in two types of melanin determines the the development of skin cancers. shade of skin colour.

Skin Deep crew 4 World UV Map

George Chaplin and Nina Jablonski

World Skin Colour Map

Student activity 1 - Gathering information

Lighter-skinned people, whether they b. In column 3, note the visuals Fitting together the pieces of the skin are European or whether they’re Asian, used to illustrate this part of the colour puzzle involves the skills of a were actually mutants of the dark- research. number of intellectual and scientific skinned people. disciplines; we need the skills of peo- – Professor Keith Cheng c. In column 4, suggest why this ple such as anthropologists, medical research and information is doctors, geneticists and social scien- Table 1 (on page 6) sets out several important in answering the tists. The filmmakers shot their material of the major areas in Nina Jablonski’s question: why is skin colour so in a number of stunning locations quest to establish why our skin is a varied across the globe? across the world, from the Rift Valley particular colour – dark to light, black in Kenya to the beaches of Brazil and to white. This is a story of evolution You may choose to divide up these Australia, as they traced the story of and adaptation. viewing tasks, as the factors listed in the evolution and adaptation proc- column 1 are explored in different sec- esses of skin colour across the globe As you watch the film: tions of the film. and the centuries.

a. Make notes in column 2 to de- There is a fact sheet about skin on scribe the research undertaken page 12 of this guide that you may about the areas listed in column 1. need to refer to in answering some SCREEN EDUCATION questions or clarifying some of the information presented in the documen- tary.

5 SIGNIFICANCE RESEARCH

ILLUSTRATE

TO

COLOUR

USED

SKIN

OF

VISUALS IOLOGY B THE RESEARCH

THE

SCREEN EDUCATION AREAS

ORTANT P IM ultraviolet light ultraviolet its and Colonisation forming in influence colour skin about attitudes and D Vitamin calciumabsorption connection folate The Inuits? the about What migration Human Albinism Early ancestors Early man early did Why hair? body lose to Exposure 6 Table 2 Table Massai villagers

Nina looking at fossils

Brazilian newlyweds

Pregnant woman, Kenya

Anthropological and • What did analysis of a genetic • What does Jablonski mean by ‘a earlier scientific studies mutation in their DNA reveal mismatch between pigmentation about their skin colour? How was and ultraviolet radiation levels for • Why are anthropological studies of their skin different to that of other many people’? Give some exam- early man important in unlocking early hominids such as those that ples of places where people live in the reasons for skin colour? What lived in East Africa? What did the countries where the climate is quite do the studies of ancient fossils in genetic evidence show about the unlike that into which they were eastern Africa reveal about how capacity of early man to adapt to born. changes to climatic conditions different environments? resulted early humans adapting to • Is it possible for evolution to keep survive in these changed condi- Colonisation and its up with these waves of people on tions? consequences the move?

• What did scientists learn about ad- • How did colonisation of indigenous • What are some of the most obvious aptation of early man from the 1.5 peoples by mostly light-skinned consequences of the mismatching million-year-old skeleton of Turkana European people result in the de- of environments and skin types? Boy? What changes in climate velopment of negative views about resulted in changes to the amount dark-skinned people? What was Mapping ultraviolet radiation of hair covering the body? the underlying motivation of colo- nisers in exploiting dark-skinned • How did the work of geographer • What did Italian geographer Renato people? George Chapman play an impor- Biasutti show in his 1941 study tant role in precisely mapping the of the distribution of skin colours • When did such perceptions devel- distribution of ultraviolet radiation across the globe? op and lay down the roots of racist across the globe? attitudes based on skin colour? • Neanderthals are an extinct spe- • How were latitude, humidity levels cies of hominid with similar ances- • How are these attitudes and their and proximity to mountains shown tors to modern humans. How- continuing consequences still ap- to affect skin colour in popula- ever, they evolved separately and parent throughout the world today? tions? migrated out of Africa to Europe much earlier than other peoples. Mass migration and multiculturalism • What is the difference between as- suming something is true, such as Explain what scientists examining the Science has revealed the delicate bal- ‘darker skinned people are found DNA of Neanderthal bones from a cave ance between the colour of our skin nearer to the equator’, and being at El Cidron in northern Spain were and our environment. (narrator) able to demonstrate the truth of SCREEN EDUCATION able to deduce about these ancient this assumption through photo- people? • What are some of the implications imaging? of the mass movements of people of different skin colour from one region to another? 7 Indigenous mother and baby

Daynes Neanderthal sculpture Kenyan sisters with Albinism

Too much sun or not enough? • What are some other sources of Albinism vitamin D? Light-coloured skin evolved to allow • What causes albinism? UVB radiation to penetrate to make • Why is an inability of the skin to ab- vitamin D and dark-coloured skin sorb enough vitamin D particularly • What are some of the physical and evolve to prevent the damaging effects a problem for dark-skinned people psychological problems faced by of UVA. This happened in response to living in the northern hemisphere? children such as Grace and Martha different UV levels. – Narrator Nzomo? • Why are red-haired, fairer-skinned • Why do white-skinned Australians people, found in higher numbers Zebrafish have such a high incidence of skin in Scotland than in other places, cancer (50 per cent of people will better physically adapted to their • How did Dr Keith Cheng deduce develop some kind of skin cancer) environment? that light-skinned people and relative to the Indigenous popula- Asians are likely to be mutants of tion? • How do the researchers account dark-skinned people through what for the variations in skin colour he observed in zebrafish muta- • What is the main cause of skin between different ages in a single tions? cancer? group and place such as the Masai in Kenya? • What implications does this finding • What is the protective effect of have for many earlier preconcep- folate in preventing certain birth • List some of the things people can tions about skin colour? defects? do to compensate for either too much or too little sunlight. • How does exposure to intense ultraviolet light affect how folate is Other pieces of the puzzle absorbed into the bloodstream? The Inuits • What are some of the beneficial ef- fects of sunlight on human health? The Inuit people are the indigenous people of the Arctic Circle region of • What was one of the major health Canada; they have . issues that affected children dur- ing the Industrial Revolution when • What was it in their diet that offered many people, especially in places them excellent sources of vitamin like The Netherlands and Scotland, D? had inadequate exposure to sun- light? • As they have moved to a more typically Western diet, how has this • What is the best source of vitamin D? affected their health? SCREEN EDUCATION

• How does vitamin D work in the body?

Director Franco Di Chiera 8 Student activity 2 – Why does this research matter?

Read the following observations from the filmmakers about their sense of the importance of the research into skin colour and their intentions in making the documentary before responding to the next set of questions.

The message is unequivocal: judg- ing or classifying people by their skin colour is an absolute fallacy.

It was a shock to learn that such racist Nzomo family notions are fairly recent – they only developed around the time of the commercial slave trade in the 1500s This film is important because it not so much harm to human relations over and the advent of modern science in only brings to the screen the fascinat- the last few hundred years. (Australian the 1700s. Up until then, differences in ing story of the science of skin colour, executive producer Andrew Ogilvie) skin colour played little or no role in the it also provides a logical explanation as world. So, people today have lived with to why the classification of people by Skin colour as a political and social quite a legacy when we think about their skin colour is so wrong. It wasn’t construct apartheid in the USA and Africa and until we started working on this project continuing racial frictions. Here has that I understood how bad science has • Has our understanding of the been a great waste of life and suffer- contributed to the problem of racism. importance of skin colour to our ing because of racist attitudes. If only Moreover, that racism based on skin evolution, health and humanity people knew back then what we now colour is a relatively new concept in given us any insight into the way know through science, so much human human history. we see ourselves and each other? conflict could’ve been avoided. On the bright side, we now have this incred- There are important health messages 1. Dark to light and light to dark – ible body of scientific research which in this film too. Watch it and you will changing appearance buries, once and for all, stereotyped learn not just about the role that skin notions of race. colour plays in protecting skin from being damaged by the sun, but also Many people, especially lighter-skinned The whole point of Jablonski’s research the vital role that it plays in ensuring individuals, do a variety of things to and that of other scientists is to illumi- optimal conditions for healthy repro- change their skin colour. Having a tan nate the logical and scientific fallacies duction and, effectively, the survival of is still regarded by many people as behind our current understanding of the human species. attractive and healthy-looking. Skin skin colour. It’s this kind of misinfor- bleaching, as thought to have been mation and prejudice that I hope this I really hope it [Skin Deep] contributes practised by Michael Jackson, is unu- documentary will help redress. to our understanding of the science of sual, although there is a thriving market – Director / co-writer Franco Di Chiera skin colour and that it helps to debunk for skin-lightening products in many many of the myths which have done asian countries. Commonly throughout history, women have used make-up to make their skin look either whiter or warmer-toned.

• What do you think is behind this desire to control and change skin colour?

• How effective do you think mes- sages about protecting skin from excessive sun exposure have been SCREEN EDUCATION in Australia?

• What kind of health problems can be caused by attempts to change Biasutti records skin colour our natural skin colour? 9 Nina reading Biasutti’s book

2. Attempts to breed out colour ing of skin colour might cause permanent residence people to rethink their attitudes Throughout history and across the towards different races? • issue policy instructions to over- globe, there have been attempts to seas posts to totally disregard breed out certain racial characteristics, • What effect do you think the elec- race as a factor in the selection of often related to skin colour. During Hit- tion of President Obama, an Afri- migrants ler’s Third Reich in Germany, it was the can American, has had on people’s fair-skinned Aryans who were treated preconceptions and assumptions • ratify all international agreements as the superior racial group. Others, about race and skin colour? relating to immigration and race. principally the Jews and the gypsies, were to be exterminated as a race. 3. White Australia Mass migration means that many Curiously they were often dark-haired countries have residents from all parts and sometimes darker-skinned. For hundreds of years there have been of the globe. Intermarriage between attempts to exclude people from im- different races is becoming more In Australia, part of the (usually migrating to particular countries on the common. Increasingly the children of unstated) reasons for assimilating Abo- basis of their ‘ethnicity’, which many migrants are marrying outside their riginal and Torres Strait Islanders into take to mean skin colour. racial group. For many people this the dominant white culture has been intermarrying is welcomed or even a desire to breed out the full-blood While Australia is not the only country irrelevant, while some older people Indigenous Australians. Many children to have excluded people on the basis are concerned about the dilution of mixed (black and white) parentage of colour, our history is littered with and disappearance of their customs, were removed from their families and laws designed to make it impossible language, religion and culture through are now known as the Stolen Genera- or very difficult to come and live here intermarriage. You see the racial mix in tions. Indigenous children who looked if you were not white. Australia had many Australian schools today, but of- lighter-skinned were often adopted by the White Australia Policy until the ten racial origins are difficult to identify white Australians where it was hoped 1970s, which excluded non-Europeans accurately and for many people they they would forget their heritage and from living permanently in Australia are not a determining factor in their fit more easily into the dominant white (with a few exemptions). While some identity. culture. In Tasmania, the few remaining restrictions on non-white immigration full-blood Aborigines were removed were eased during the late 1950s and • To what extent does the mix of stu- to Flinders Island. Some of their 1960s, it was not until 1973 that the dents in your classroom represent descendants survived. While debate federal government formally changed the multicultural mix of Australia continues as to whether such acts and the laws designed to exclude Asians today? policies constitute a form of genocide, and other non-whites from moving to their result was catastrophic for the Australia. • How is this mix of origins reflected Indigenous people and their culture in a range of skin shades? and way of life. They were seen and The three key clauses were: treated as inferior, essentially because • Are some of the racial tensions SCREEN EDUCATION they were ‘black’. • legislate that all migrants, of what- that still exist in Australian society ever origin, be eligible to obtain related to stereotyping people on • How do you think an understand- citizenship after three years of the basis of skin colour?

10 melanocyte

Skin Cancer

UVA

Student activity 3 - science documentaries

There are many challenges involved 5. How does the use of digital tech- • Promote an understanding of the in making a science documentary, nology and computer animations process of scientific enquiry particularly when it is about a relatively help filmmakers use visual informa- complex subject. Striking a balance tion to explain and reinforce the • Provoke speculation about sci- between being informative and enter- spoken word? ence’s impact and application taining is one of the most challenging aspects of this style of filmmaking. 6. Replay a sequence of the film that • Impact on perceived risks of sci- As film is essentially a visual medium, runs for no more than two minutes, ence’s applications words and information need to be pre- such as that from 46:50 – 48:28, sented through images wherever pos- which begins with a montage of • Impact on levels of trust in science sible. Discuss how the makers of Skin portrait shots of people with differ- and scientists Deep tell their story by responding to ent skin colour smiling at the cam- the following questions and activities. era and ends with a montage of • Raise excessive or false expecta- smaller portrait shots that dissolve tions about, for example, a new 1. Is there a narrative arc in this film? and reform as people call out their disease treatment If so, outline its development. skin colour. Mute the sound and list the number and variety of images • Awaken interest in pursuing sci- 2. How is the information presented that are shown on the screen. ence as a career. by a number of experts in the field integrated into the story? What Now return to this sequence and 8. What do you think are some of the makes ‘a good talker’ in a docu- make a list of the information pro- most interesting questions about mentary about a complex subject? vided by the speakers during our understanding of skin colour What skills do people need to this same sequence. How does raised in this documentary? Devise convey information and make it the audio (voices) complement and a set of three questions you would interesting to viewers? relate to the images? like to ask Nina Jablonski about some aspects of the program’s sci- 3. What advantages did these film- 7. Here is a list of some of the possi- ence and its conclusions. makers have in terms of visual ble effects a science documentary images? may have on viewers. Highlight the areas that you think relate most 4. How important are some of the strongly to Skin Deep. graphics used in this film, such as SCREEN EDUCATION the maps showing the intensity • Educate, inform and entertain and distribution of sunlight, to our understanding of the topic?

11 Fact sheet about skin Two thirds of Australians develop a skin cancer during their lives and, at a conservative estimate, 1700 cases prove fatal each year.

According to Jablonski, all modern humans stem from a single group of A major association has been found between diets that are rich in folate and the devel- completely anatomically modern people opment of healthy embryos and sperm. When our bodies are exposed to prolonged or started to make their way out of Tropical intense UV radiation the folate’s molecular structure is damaged and becomes inactive. Africa around 120,000 years ago and It’s clear: black skin evolved to protect folate levels in high UV environments and in spread throughout Europe and Asia, colo- turn, ensure reproductive success. nising the planet in the space of about 30,000 years.

Vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common medical conditions in the world, Scientists have identified at least three and people of colour living far from the Scientists believe it was only when hu- other human species which have disap- equator are at much higher risk. A Boston mans started to lose their body hair that peared: they include Neanderthals in study showed that up to 84 per cent of permanent dark skin evolved. Europe, Erectus in Asia and Flores in African-American men and women over Indonesia the age of sixty-five were vitamin D defi- cient at the end of the summer.

During the last ice age, Australia and New Guinea were joined by a land bridge While the exact number of human genes Black Africans have in the order of ten and were only separated from Eurasia is still unknown, current estimates sug- times less skin cancer than by narrow straits of water. This land gest there are around 25,000. Of these, living at the same latitude and with simi- bridge submerged about 8000 years ago, more than 100 are known to be involved lar levels of sun exposure. isolating the Australian continent and its in pigment production. inhabitants.

Our dark ancestors could not have How does tanning occur? When people go Albinism is an almost total lack of mela- survived in a Northern European or North out in the sun, cells in the deepest layer nin, caused by a major DNA mutation. For American climate because their skin is of the skin called melanocytes respond by every pregnancy from parents carry- so effective as a sunscreen it would have making protective black-brown melanin. ing the mutation, there’s a 25 per cent prevented them from making sufficient The pigment is then transferred to all oth- chance of having a baby with albinism. vitamin D. As a result, they would have er skin cells giving skin a homogeneous With no natural defence against the experienced a range of health compli- colour. As the concentrations increase, sun’s rays, people with albinism run a cations, including growth retardation, the pigment becomes more visible. It’s 1000-fold risk of developing skin cancer bone malformation, increased difficulty this process that causes tanning. compared to those with dark skin. with childbirth, muscle weakness and increased risk of infectious disease.

From about 50,000 years ago, people migrated from equatorial areas with abundant

sunlight to latitudes where the sun was less intense. These changed environmental SCREEN EDUCATION There are two types of pigments, conditions led to the evolution of light-coloured skin in our human ancestors. When UV eumelanin, which is brown or black, and levels are lower, it becomes more important to have less pigmentation in the skin, so pheomelanin, which is red or yellow. that sufficient UV penetrates the skin for the body to produce the levels of vitamin D it needs.

12 Nina in Eastern Rift Valley Kenya

Resources & references

Nina Jablonski, Skin: A Natural His- tory, University of California Press, Berkeley, 2006. Teixeira twins http://www.ted.com/talks/nina_ jablonski_breaks_the_illusion_of_ skin_color.html

Watch a fifteen-minute video lecture Student activity 4 - Five-minute skin talk by Nina Jablonski outlining the main points of her theory about the Choose one of the following topics and 5. What is the relationship between evolutionary origins of skin colour. prepare a talk, either individually or in vitamin D, folate and sun exposure This site also includes an interesting pairs, using diagrams, pictures and for people of different skin colour? blog discussion about skin colour statistics wherever possible, to explain theories and Jablonski’s work. the evolutionary variations in skin 6. Albinism explained. colour to your fellow students. Try to http://discovermagazine.com/2001/ limit your talk to five minutes and avoid 7. Rickets, skin cancer and some feb/featbiology/ using jargon. birth defects – how are they related? An article about Nina Jablonski’s 1. How do anthropological studies of research into skin colour. early man demonstrate the origins 8. Explain health problems that may of skin colour? arise when people born further http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/ from the equator with fairer skin stories/2007/2093359.htm 2. ‘Touched by the sun’ – UVA and relocate to warmer regions? UVB. How does the place where Transcript of a 2007 ABC Radio we are born affect our skin colour? 9. Explain what health problems may National Science Show program How can this correlation between arise when people with naturally about the dangers of classifying darker skin and proximity to the darker skin relocate to cooler people on the basis of their skin equator be scientifically demon- regions further from the equator colour and race. strated? and their place of birth? http://science-nature-document 3. Why don’t the dark-skinned Inuits 10. Too much sunlight or not enough? aries.suite101.com/article.cfm/ of the northern hemisphere have How can we strike a healthy science_on_television fair skin? balance? An article about the challenges 4. How did colonisation and subse- 11. How might awareness of the of making science documentaries. quent people movements through origins of skin colour change slave trades determine how skin attitudes? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ colour was perceived and become Human_skin_color responsible for entrenching racist SCREEN EDUCATION attitudes towards darker-skinned The Wikipedia entry on human people? skin colour offers a comprehensive overview of some of the material explored in Skin Deep.

13 This study guide was produced by ATOM. (© ATOM 2010) [email protected]

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