RR1 Nacirema TEMPLATE (1)-4

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Anthropology 104 Reading Response 1 | Body rituals among the Nacirema This material is the intellectual property of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. All rights reserved Name: TA Name: Discussion Section Number: Semester and Year: 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 2 . 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. When I first read the article, I thought most of the Nacirema’s rituals and practices were strange, like the ones involving cleansing the mouth, but as I read it a second time it seemed mostly familiar. The mouth-rite process in which the Nacirema use hog hairs and magical powders to clean the mouth is very similar to how we brush our teeth. Similarly, to the holy-mouth-man, we have a dentist, but how its described in the article the Nacirema’s ritual is stranger. Miner describes the holy-mouthman as doing “exorcism of the evils of the mouth” and doing it to “draw friends,” which they must go through a series of torture for. It is familiar to the way that we go to the dentist about two times a year, and they use tools to clean the mouth, but it’s strange the way its described. Similarly, to our culture, we must go the dentist, to not have bad breath, which then draws friends. Another ritual that is strange to me is the shrine, which at the same time can be compared to a bathroom, as it is a focal point in the taking care of one’s body. In the shrine, is the chest, where charms and magical potions are kept, which the people believe they can’t live without. Similar to the products and medicine that people use in our culture, just without the magic and potions. 2. What did you find most interesting, important, and/or confusing about this article? I think an interesting part of the article is how much of the processes that are to take care of one’s body are seen as torture, dehumanizing and uncomfortable through the authors eyes. Most of the “rituals” are similar to many of the processes we go to, but they are over dramatized through Miner. A confusing part of this article for me is the fact that the anthropologist seems to be endorsing cultural relativism by the tone at which its written and the words that are used to describe the procedures. The way in which he described the rituals as being torturous, scrutinizing, and uncomfortable seem as though he is judging this societies way of living. 3. Why do you think Miner wrote this article? What might he have been trying to get readers to think or feel? I think Miner uses ethnocentrism in the article to get readers to understand the effects it brings when reading about other cultures. Miner has a tone of judgment when writing about the Nacirema, as he talks about their “rituals” being torturous and harmful. Although it seems as though he is writing the article with ethnocentrism, it could be a way of getting readers to understand culture relativism. By pointing out to readers the crude way in which he judges this cultures way of caring for one’s body, its showing readers the exact opposite way of how they should be analyzing other cultures. He ends the passage saying that looking from a different culture, it is easy for one to pass judgement on the “magic” that is important for the rituals of the Nacirema, but culture relativism is necessary to appreciate the differences of other cultures. 4. Miner wrote this article in 1956. If an anthropologist wrote an article like this today, how might it be different? I think if Miner wrote this article today it would show more culture sensitivity. I think that today, rightfully, people are more aware of what they should and should not be saying. So, I think that anthropologists are more aware of criticizing cultures and being ethnocentric. I also think technology would play a larger role in criticizing culture. Technology and social media have increased so much in the last seventy years and is often brutally criticized, so I think it would play a part considering the impact it has on society. Although, I do believe that society, in terms of cleansing the body in that regard have not changed far from how its ironically described in the article. Although to get the point across, I do think it would be more focus on the idea of how social media influences people’s lives, instead of the cleaning of the human body. 5. Explain how this article connects to concepts discussed in the lectures and/or to any of the OTHER courses you are taking this semester (identify the course name and number). In my course, Com arts 250, we recently discussed the idea of Generational chauvinism. Generational chauvinism is when people regard their generation as superior to all others. An example of this is how the older generations 2 Anthropology 104 | Reading Response 1

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