...In “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” Horace Miner explores the superficiality and vanity of humans in the extreme and unusual rituals of the Nacirema people. The Nacirema have a fascination that borderlines obsession with the human body, dedicating shrines and ceremonial activities towards it. They believe that their own bodies are naturally ugly as well as prone to disease, so it is extremely necessary to perform various rituals in order to prevent these characteristics. For example, their shrines consist of a chest filled to the brim with a wide array of charms and potions whose purposes’ are forgotten and feared, yet are kept because the Nacirema believe the potions will protect them. Moreover, they have blind faith for medicine men and practitioners that assist...
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...Body Ritual among the Nacirema by Horace Miner emphasizes on the role of culture and how it affects our idea of stereotypes and prejudices. Miner attempts to make familiar things seem strange and he does so successfully. He describes the peculiar rituals performed by a very dubious category of people called Nacirema. The “magical”beliefs and practices of the Nacirema comes off as bizarre and ancient and the primary belief of the Nacirema culture is that “the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease” (P1) and thus the reason for the rituals; to enhance and improve the conditions of the body. Miner explains that within the homes of the Nacirema are shrines devoted to sacred rituals and ceremonies. The Naciremas...
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...What message did I get from “Body Rituals among the Nacirema”? I have to admit that it took me a couple readings before I could start thinking about what I had read. Initially, with the vocabulary used in the article, I had no idea who the Nacirema tribe were or understood their tribal rituals. I didn’t catch, “They are a North American group living in the territory between the Canadian Creel and Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles.”, at first. But, after doing some research on-line it all kind of came together for me. The following are some things that made it easier for me. Nacirema = American spelled backwards. Shrines = Bathrooms Shrine Box/Chest = Medicine Cabinets Latipso = Hospital Medicine...
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...In the article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” Horace Miner tries to make us realize that we should not believe everything in which we are told. This is demonstrated when he mentions that it is sometimes difficult to collect accurate information about a culture when you do not belong to it because the information may be based on assumption. This is also demonstrated when he discusses that Americans always seem to believe what doctors say even though they are not always successful in healing individuals. It is also shown when he mentions that people always believe that they cannot heal without medicine therefore they cannot live without it. Firstly, it is very possible that information given about a culture can be described differently from...
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...Summary In the article, Body Ritual among the Nacirema, written by Horace Miner, talks a lot about a North American group called the Nacirema which was first brought up by Professor Linton twenty years ago. He talks about the Nacirema having a daily ritual activity that focuses on the human body. To the Nacirema, they believe that, “the human body is ugly”, and they use what they call a shrine to help avert these characteristics. In these shrines are kept many charms and magical potions that are used daily for when the ritual activity takes place. There are practitioners called the ‘medicine men’ who write down ingredients for the magical potions and then given to the herbalists who then provide the potion for the Nacirema to use and store in their shrine for safe...
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...Reflection on Nacirema "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" is a paper by Horace Miner that describes the Nacirema tribe’s culture in a unique way. A substantial part of the tribe’s lives are spent on unusual rituals and customs to improve conditions of the body that are filled with magical components. As I first read this article I was taken back. The article intrigued me. I had to think really long and hard about what was being done in their culture. While I was thinking about how I perceived this article I started thinking that everything may not be as far out there as I originally thought. So I read the article again with more of an open mind. Even though this article may seem to be odd there are points that I myself see very similar to the way our society does things. Starting with a brief history of how the nation became the way it is, with Notgnishaw cutting down the cherry tree. Even today young children know this idea of cutting down the tree may seem familiar, and it should because George Washington cut the tree down. Miner talks about the need for our bodies to be "perfect" in order to attract friends and mates. He says that the Nacirema "perform a mouth-rite" every day because the mouth is the source of all things good and evil (kissing, talking, eating, decay) this is true everything that we do involves our mouths. He then goes on to talk about our need to stay young. I believe that our society worries too much about how old they look. Our society is always...
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...the World Elements of Culture Culture and the Dominant Ideology Case Study: Culture at Wal-Mart Cultural Variation Social Policy and Culture: Bilingualism Boxes Sociology in the Global Community: Life in the Global Village Sociology in the Global Community: Cultural Survival in Brazil Sociology on Campus: A Culture of Cheating? “Nacirema culture is characterized by a highly developed market economy which has evolved in a rich natural habitat. While much of the people's time is devoted to economic pursuits, a large part of the fruits of these labors and a considerable portion of the day are spent in ritual activity. The focus of this activity is the human body, the appearance and health of which loom as a dominant concern in the ethos of the people. While such a concern is certainly not unusual, its ceremonial aspects and associated philosophy are unique. The fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease. Incarcerated in such a body, man's only hope is to avert these characteristics through the use of the powerful influences of ritual and ceremony. Every household has one or more shrines devoted to this purpose. The more powerful individuals in the society have several shrines in their...
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...Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank to accompany A First Look at Communication Theory Sixth Edition Em Griffin Wheaton College prepared by Glen McClish San Diego State University and Emily J. Langan Wheaton College Published by McGrawHill, an imprint of The McGrawHill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright Ó 2006, 2003, 2000, 1997, 1994, 1991 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may be reproduced in print form solely for classroom use with A First Look At Communication Theory provided such reproductions bear copyright notice, but may not be reproduced in any other form or for any other purpose without the prior written consent of The McGrawHill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. PREFACE Rationale We agreed to produce the instructor’s manual for the sixth edition of A First Look at Communication Theory because it’s a first-rate book and because we enjoy talking and writing about pedagogy. Yet when we recall the discussions we’ve had with colleagues about instructor’s manuals over the years, two unnerving comments stick with us: “I don’t find them much help”; and (even worse) “I never look at them.” And, if the truth be told, we were often the people making such points! With these statements in mind, we have done some serious soul-searching about the texts that so many teachers—ourselves...
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...Ethnicity, Identity and Public Policy Critical Perspectives on Multiculturalism David Bromell Institute of Policy Studies Ethnicity, Identity and Public Policy Critical Perspectives on Multiculturalism David Bromell Institute of Policy Studies First printed in 2008 Institute of Policy Studies School of Government Victoria University of Wellington PO Box 600 Wellington © Institute of Policy Studies ISBN 158 IPS/Pub/978-1-877347-26-9 This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced without the permission of the Institute of Policy Studies. Copy editor: Belinda Hill Cover design: Milne Printers Ltd Printed by Milne Printers Ltd Contents List of Tables iv List of Figures iv List of Boxes iv Foreword v Acknowledgments and Disclaimer ix Part One: Introduction and Context of Inquiry 1 Introduction 2 New Zealand Context 3 21 Part Two: Communitarian Responses to Liberalism Introduction to Part Two 61 3 Civic Republicanism: Michael Sandel 63 4 The Politics of Recognition: Charles Taylor 83 Part Three: Multiculturalism Introduction to Part Three 105 5 Multicultural Citizenship: Will Kymlicka 107 6 Common Citizenship in a Multicultural Society: Bhikhu Parekh 151 Part Four: Critical Responses to Multiculturalism ...
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