Download Discussion Questions Reading 32

Discussion Questions
Reading 32
Anthropology Explored: The Best of Smithsonian AnthroNotes, 2ndedition
SOCI1250 – Introduction to Anthropology
Gary Toth - Instructor
From Tattoo to Piercing: Body Art as Visual Language (Reading 32)
Enid Schildkrout and Adrienne L. Kaeppler
1) Discuss the various forms that body art takes, and what it can convey. For
example, how can it be used to encode memories and desires, or express status,
cultural identity, or individuality?
2) How can body art be misunderstood? Do you think our culture has a cultural
prejudice against body art? Can you cite any personal evidence for this
prejudice?
3) How have tattoos undergone a revolution in their popularity and in the way
they are received? What other kinds of body art are increasingly prevalent
today?
In addition, you may want to visit the following site to supplement the
article:
Body Art: Visit the National Museum of Natural History's online exhibit of
"Canela body adornment," http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/canela/canela1.htm.
Read all three pages of the exhibit and answer the questions below:
a. In this example, how interrelated are art and worldview? How is art being used
by the Canela?
b. What individuals among the Canela get their ears pierced, and what does it
signify? Who participates in the piercing? How does this practice compare to ear
piercing in Western society?
c. Cultures can change through time. What kinds of changes have occurred in
the Canela practices of ear piercing since the 1950s? In the same way, what
kinds of changes have occurred in ear piercing practices in Western society?
What do these changes signify?