RR1 Nacirema Spring 2024

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University of Wisconsin, Madison *

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312

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Anthropology

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Feb 20, 2024

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Anthropology 104 Reading Response 1 | Body rituals among the Nacirema Name: Ruiyang Xu TA Name: Zunayed Ahmed Ehsan Discussion Section Number: DIS 312 Semester and Year: Spring 2024 Getting Started Welcome to your first writing assignment for Anthropology 104! Please add your information to this template (above), rename and save it in Microsoft Word .docx or .doc format. Make sure the filename includes your name and the name of the assignment (RR1). (Example) RR1 Wendy Liu.docx Submission: This assignment template contains all the instructions and questions you need for this assignment. The reading itself (“Body rituals among the Nacirema” by Horace Miner), is available on Canvas. Background Anthropologists conduct research through ethnographic fieldwork. This involves living and interacting with a community over an extended period of time in order to better understand the systems of power and meaning that shape people’s lives. One of the outcomes of ethnographic fieldwork is that by becoming involved in other people’s daily activities and learning about their distinct experiences, cultural practices that may have seemed “strange” to the anthropologist when they first started their fieldwork can soon feel familiar. At the same time, the experience of fieldwork often leads anthropologists to see their own lives and cultural practices from a new perspective. In other words, what was originally familiar to the anthropologist can come to appear “strange.” The same can be true when we read the work of anthropologists. Their research can help us avoid ethnocentrism, in which we view our own cultural practices as “natural” or “right.” It can unlock our ability to analyze and appreciate the diversity of human cultures, none of which is more “normal” than another. In 1956, the anthropologist Horace Miner wrote an article called “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema.” In it, he examines the seemingly “strange” cultural beliefs and practices of a group of people that have developed elaborate rituals focusing on the care of the human body. Reading Response 1 | Horace Miner’s “Body rituals among the Nacirema” Instructions & Expectations Before you begin this writing assignment, read “Body rituals among the Nacirema” (available as a PDF on Canvas). Read the article and reflect on it by answering the questions below. Each answer should be written using full sentences and should be 100 – 200 words . DUE DATE: This assignment needs to be completed by 11:59pm the day BEFORE your Discussion Section in Week 3 . 1 Anthropology 104 | Reading Response 1

1. Do any of the Nacirema’s rituals seem strange to you? Do any seem familiar? Why? Explain your answers. To me, the oral ritual seems a bit unusual; the ritual involves applying powder to the teeth. If the person performing the ritual does not have cavities, the shaman needs teeth. Drilling a hole in it is painful. Most of the place, I think is somewhat similar: The shrine room is like a bathroom, the talisman box is like a medicine cabinet and the rituals performed within it: a sense of familiarity becomes apparent once one realizes that the basic activities are brushing teeth, showering, applying cosmetics and medicines. These are daily activities performed by millions of people. 2. What did you find most interesting, important, and/or confusing about this article? What I find most interesting is that most of the rituals and customs described by the author are very similar to our living habits, but with an ironic and strange tone and wording. 3. Why do you think Miner wrote this article? What might he have been trying to get readers to think or feel? With Bodily Ritual of the Nacirema, Horace Mitchell Miner seems to aim to introduce the complex and mysterious body rituals of the Nacirema that occupy a central place in their culture. However, the civilization Miner introduces is highly like American culture, albeit in an ironic tone. This approach suggests that the author may be criticizing a common phenomenon: using the perspective and standards of American culture to evaluate and understand other cultures. By characterizing every day, generally considered "normal" American cultural practices, such as personal hygiene and beauty rituals, as alien and bizarre, Miner deftly reveals how any cultural practice can be seen as exotic or difficult Understandably, it all depends on the cultural background and assumptions of the observer. 4. Miner wrote this article in 1956. If an anthropologist wrote an article like this today, how might it be different? If an anthropologist wrote an article today similar to Horace Mitchell Miner's "Body Ritual Within the Nacirema," it might It will reflect changes and progress in anthropological thought. It avoids perpetuating stereotypes or offending readers and emphasizes the importance of understanding cultural practices within a specific context. The work may also explore the effects of globalization, showing how cultural practices evolve as a result of the global exchange of ideas and the blending of traditions. 5. How does this article connect to concepts discussed in class (i.e. in the lectures, discussion section, or textbook)? This article ties into many of the concepts in the book. The issue of how to view different cultures is mentioned in books and articles. Miner describes American culture in a satirical tone, which is a criticism and 2 Anthropology 104 | Reading Response 1

satire of American centrism. The book also emphasizes that we should treat other civilizations with an objective and non-judgmental attitude. 6. Have you ever had an experience that made you see one of your own cultural practices from a new perspective? If so, explain your experience. If not, describe two to three of your own cultural practices in detail (reviewing Chapter 2 of the textbook, particularly pages 37-42, may help you formulate an answer). I have been from China since I was a child, so my family naturally still retains the Chinese customs and culture. The most representative one is eating: our dinners usually have dishes in the middle of a round table, and each of us uses chopsticks to pick up the dishes and put them into our own bowl. The culture here is a meal- separate system, with each person on the rectangular table having their own food. Seeing Chinese culture from American culture, I might think it's a bit impolite and unhygienic. But I don't want to change. Another difference in habits is the bed. For Chinese people, the bed should be kept clean, so we take a shower before going to bed, take off our shoes and socks, and go to bed. But that's not the case here. Some people will wear dirty socks or even wear dirty shoes, dirty clothes, sleep on bed. 3 Anthropology 104 | Reading Response 1

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RR1 Nacirema Spring 2024

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