Thursday, November 15, 2012

Media Moment, "Body Ritual among the Nacirema"

I wanted to share a document that I feel ties directly into the ideas of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. You can find it here:


Tell me what you think about the Nacirema society. I don't want to give too much away because I want you to come to your own conclusions. (Hint: Does anything sound familiar?) What is the mystery and what can we take away from it?

I was introduced to this text in my anthropology class and ever since reading it, my eyes have been completely opened. It showed me that when one is so utterly and completely immersed in one's environment and culture, it is difficult to distance oneself and take another's point of view. 

To me, reading and discussing this with that class opened up an entirely new perspective. I hope that it will do the same for you. Or at least give you a little aha! moment. 

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