Dawn Prince-Hughes facts for kids
Dawn Prince-Hughes (born 1964) is an American expert who studies people, primates, and animal behavior. She has written several books, including Gorillas Among Us: A Primate Ethnographer's Book of Days and her memoir Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism. She also edited Aquamarine Blue 5: Personal Stories of College Students with Autism.
Contents
About Dawn Prince-Hughes
Dawn Prince-Hughes grew up in Carbondale, Illinois. As a child, she experienced symptoms of undiagnosed autism. She left high school early and faced some difficult times.
When she was 20, she visited the gorillas at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle for the first time. She spent a lot of time carefully watching the gorillas. The zoo's research director noticed how detailed her observations were. She then got a job at the zoo and spent a total of 12 years studying the gorillas.
When she was 36, Dawn Prince-Hughes was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, which is a type of autism. In 1987, she started working on her college degree. She later earned her PhD in anthropology through a special learning program from a university in Switzerland. In 2000, the same year she learned she had Asperger's, she became a professor at Western Washington University.
Her Books
Dawn Prince-Hughes has written many books. These include Gorillas Among Us: A Primate Ethnographer's Book of Days, published in 2001. Her personal story, Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism, came out in 2004. She also edited a collection of essays called Aquamarine Blue 5: Personal Stories of College Students with Autism, which was published in 2002.
Gorillas Among Us
This book is based on a year Dawn Prince-Hughes spent watching a family of gorillas at a zoo. Reviewers said it was a unique way to look at primates. They noted that she clearly formed a special connection with the gorillas. The book shares both sad and joyful moments from her observations.
Aquamarine Blue 5
In Aquamarine Blue 5, Dawn Prince-Hughes collected true stories from college students who have autism. She wrote an introduction for each author and her own essay. The book also includes advice for universities and a list of helpful resources. She did not change the students' essays. Reviewers said these stories offer important insights, especially for places like libraries and universities.
Songs of the Gorilla Nation
Dawn Prince-Hughes's personal essay from Aquamarine Blue 5 grew into her memoir, Songs of the Gorilla Nation. In this book, she shares how getting to know the gorillas at the Woodland Park Zoo helped her feel connected and understood for the first time.
Reviewers noted that the book is about both gorillas and autism. They found her childhood stories very moving. The book shows how she learned about relationships and belonging by watching the gorillas. By quietly observing them, she understood emotions like love, anger, and humor. She felt a deep connection with these "gorilla people," seeing them as models of kindness and acceptance.
Selected Works
- The Archetype of the Ape-man: The Phenomenological Archaeology of a Relic Hominid Ancestor, 2000, ISBN: 978-1-58112-119-3
- Adam, 2001, ISBN: 978-1-890711-10-8
- Gorillas Among Us: A Primate Ethnographer's Book of Days, 2001, ISBN: 978-0-8165-2151-7
- Aquamarine Blue 5: Personal Stories of College Students with Autism (editor), 2002, ISBN: 978-1-4000-8092-2
- Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism, 2004, ISBN: 1-4000-5058-8
- Expecting Teryk: An Exceptional Path to Parenthood, 2005, ISBN: 978-0-8040-1079-5 (hbk), ISBN: 978-0-8040-1080-1 (pbk)
- Passing as Human / Freak Nation: How I Discovered That No One Is Normal, 2009, ISBN: 9780307345530
- Circus of Souls: How I Discovered We are All Freaks Passing as Normal , 2013, ISBN: 978-0-307-34553-0
Personal Life
Dawn Prince-Hughes has a son with her partner, Tara Hughes, who is an English professor.
See also
In Spanish: Dawn Prince-Hughes para niños
- Gunilla Gerland
- Nim Chimpsky
- Jane Goodall
- Koko
- Louis Leakey
- Sociobiology
