Horace Miner – Nacirema Tribe Location

Body Rituals among the Nacirema is an article written by Horace mineworker about a group of people, the Nacirema, and their general functions or rituals. Miner relates the culture, practices, values, and beliefs of a seemingly strange and strange tribe. He vividly and descriptively describes behaviors and activities that be interpreted as unusual and strange. The tribe Miner depicts seems primal and uncivilized, and yet somewhat beaten(prenominal). They are a newton American group living in the territory between the Canadian Creel the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles (Miner).This area is the get together States of America and upon recognizing the location, the ref starts to kick the bucket cognizant of the presence of an ulterior message. Miners depiction draws us in but shortly, we realize he is referring to American society read backwards, Nacirema spells American. Instead of describing a far-away and exotic tribe, as the reader firs t expects, the article describes very chemical formula aspects of American life, such as dental hygiene and medicine. The use of language like mouth-rite, holy-mouth-men, and medicine men frames these aspects in a very irregular way.Miner does an exceptional job of disguising the American culture as Nacirema. Once unveiling this disguise, many references can considerably be seen and the article is interpreted in a whole new way for example, the cleansing saint as the washroom, magical potions as medicine, and latipso as hospital. This article is written as an observation on American society but could be generalized as North American practices. The article demonstrates that attitudes about the frame relieve oneself a widespread influence on many social institutions.Many of the rituals that we have in North America involve manipulating our image and this value contradicts the enlightened and rational creatures we sometimes imagine ourselves to be. Miner efficaciously convinces the reader of the somewhat ridiculous nature of (North) Americas obsession with health and visual appeal. This is carry out by provoking readers to form an outside opinion of themselves before realizing they are their own subject. His analysis portrays himself and the reader as superior, civilized beings studying this tribe, which creates a distance and differentiation leading to comparison.By describing American culture from the panorama of an external observer, we can realize how a different stead or standpoint can distinguish our rituals as quite strange. As such, Miners article can be seen as speaking to how other cultures could entrance our own, and shows how ethnocentrism can affect how we see and interpret culture. Miner uses his style of writing to found his apparent point that Americans are ethnocentric. Furthermore, the tone of the article displays how this ethnocentrism can lead to judgment of other, unknown cultures.A evocative point for me throughout this arti cle is Miners success in translating Peter Bergers conceit of the sociological perspective, making the reader see the strange in the familiar. By thinking of these familiar rituals as strange, a new perspective is formed and our regular, normal world can be seen in a fresh, anomalous way. Importantly, the sociological imagination begins to engage and develop as we recapture the ability to be knocked out(p) by what we normally take for granted.This broadening of perspective and how we look at ourselves can lead us to think beyond our standpoint and better understand someone of a different background. Upon first reading, the rituals/institutions exposit have a familiarity, but in everyday life we have become socialized so as we do not see the odd and sometimes illogical actions we perform. As Miner begins, the anthropologist has become so familiar with the diversity of ways in which different people behave in correspondent situations that he is not apt to be surprised by even the most exotic customs. I believe Horace Miner wrote this piece to touch on all of these points to make us see the familiar as strange, to develop the sociological imagination, and to bring awareness to the ethnocentrism of our culture/society. The targeted audience whitethorn be baby buster anthropologists, sociologists, scholars/ students, or even the general public. Miner challenges all North Americans to look at themselves in a new light, to look critically upon our own society. He is effective in conveying his messages through his unique approach to the idea, and ability to re-arrange our thought process.He seems to challenge the way cultures, and American culture in particular, may have been previously represented or misrepresented. Furthermore, the article breaks the barrier of viewing American culture as normal and that which others may be measured against he breaks the barrier of ethnocentrism. Another reason to comment on these points may have been to try to stimulate bette r, less biased research and inspire colleagues, students etc. to consider the beingness of perspective and potential for ethnocentrism in all that they do.I find the article relevant, personally, as a student studying sociology and business, and as a North American. Our society is continually becoming more culturally diverse, and international fundamental interaction (whether in business, academics or elsewhere) is becoming commonplace. Therefore, it is increasingly important to learn to step outside of our accustomed perspective and to be aware of others we interact with, as well as of our own biases, viewpoints, and barriers.The clever way Miner provokes looking at the familiar as strange lead me think of the many ways we view the familiar, having become accustomed to our social norms and values. I have begun to see these in a new way, and allow further keep in mind the sociological perspective and presence of potential ethnocentric views when evaluating situations. We naturall y look at other cultures or societies through the lens of our own but if we are satisfactory to understand our own culture our social context the water in which we swim, we can develop our relationships and interactions with those from other waters.