Body Culture

Submitted By beatrice014
Words: 970
Pages: 4
Open Document
Body and movement constitute fundamental conditions of human existence. They can be the starting point for a new understanding of what is the ‘material basis’ in social and cultural theory. Based on three decades of comparative studies in body cultures, some methodological and theoretical observations are concluded. They propose directions for a future phenomenology, history, and anthropology of practice. Body culture studies open perspectives for new ways of thinking dialectically and for a humanistic materialism. They contribute to inter-bodily democracy. The body is the material basis of our existence as human beings. The body tells our story: Who am I, who are we? From bodily interaction, human social practice comes into being.1
On one hand, the body is a part of human existence, which the individual is not free just to choose freely. On the other hand, the body is not determi- ned from the very beginning. Between the given body on one hand and intentional body management on the other, body culture develops in a process, which is historical and collective. The study of body culture casts light on this process and its contradictions between ‘just doing’ and ‘trying to steer’.
People ‘make’ their own body, but they do not make it of their own individual will.
1
Body culture shows the different levels of what we call ‘culture’ in human life. Body culture ranges side by side with spiritual culture, which consists of the ideas, symbols and meanings of societal life. And body culture ranges side by side with the ‘material culture’, which is the world of human-made things, instruments and technology.
However, spiritual culture, material culture, and body culture do not just range side by side. Bodily practice is the origin of material constructions aswellasthebasicreferenceoflanguage.2 The‘standing’bodytellsabout the ‘state’ of the things and about the political state.3
The body tells an underground story, which is passing underneath the well-known history of civilization. Duke Students have a unique body culture that presents what type of humans they are. I am sure everyone has heard the phrase “dress for success” , which is clearly relavent in the way Duke students present themselves. Most students dress very well and they wish to be respected by all their proffessors and excepted by other students. The way students dress at Duke represents who they are as ta person , and what type of background they come from. For example every morning I wake up at 7 am to prepare for my 8:30 classes. At 7 am there are at least 6 girls already in the bathroom doing their hair and makeup. People at Duke take pride in the way they look. One section of the students body that dresses differently from everyone else would be the student athletes. All the student athletes at Duke are represented with uniforms and clothes. They have certain advantages that other students do not have the opportunity of receiving.You typically see Duke student athletes walking around campus in their athetic clothes and their black back packs which usually display their names on their bag.Not For example,scholarships, tutors, and preferences. A typical student athlete is always in their athletic uniforms. Not only do they do this to distinguish themselves from the other students, but it is also the easiest and most comfortable thing to wear throughout the day. Most athletes have to go straight to practice from their classes, so wearing their athletic gear would is the easiest. It is interesting to see how the student athletes interact with other people compared to the rest of the student body at duke. Because the athletes are on a different schedule
Show More

Related Documents: Body Culture

Race: Race and Ethnicity Essay

Race: A group of people who are perceived by a given society to be biologically different from others Ethnicity: People who share, believe they share, or are believed by others to share a national origin; a common ancestry; a place of birth; distinctive concrete social traits (such as religious practices, style of dress, body adornments, or language); or socially important physical characteristics (such as skin color, hair texture, or body structure) Discrimination: Intentional or unintentional…

Words 396 - Pages 2

Essay about Race: Race and Varied Race Populations

A Personal View on Race, Class, Ethnicity and Gender My Views and Beliefs of Race, Class, Ethnicity and Gender What are beliefs? One’s beliefs can be defined as your thoughts and values on how you live your life and your impressions and feelings about topics and situations. A belief is the acceptance of something as being truthful. By definition, it is the mental act, condition, or habit of placing confidence or trust in a person or thing. Beliefs can also be…

Words 1255 - Pages 6

Race: Race and United States Essay

Race Cultural Awareness in the Human Services Melissa Maldonado May 20, 2013 When it comes to race many people think of white and black. But there are many other races within the United States. But according to the Univeristy of Michigan there are two kinds of races biological and social. The term they list for biological race is a geographically isolated subsdivision of a species that will eventually evolve into a new species if it remains isolated long enough.…

Words 660 - Pages 3

Race: Physiological Differences In The World Race

Race Report – Physiological Differences in sport performance between different races There are many races in the world race; is related to factors of, ethnicity, skin colour, geographically where you are from and the form of he/she’s body. Just to name a few races there are in the world are; Caucasian, Asian, African; whether they be from the east or the west, there are many, and the all are have their own qualities in certain areas of sport and exercise. The West Africans are a race that very…

Words 1518 - Pages 7

Race And Ethnicity

Race and Ethnicity A theory is a way to explain or understand something. Social Science and Humanities * Human behavior * Stress critical analyses, critical thinking. * The development of theories Canada is a multi-ethnic, multicultural, multi-racial and multi-national state. * Has an official policy of multiculturalism * Historically, much of Canadian’s policy revolved around the assimilation of ethnic minorities or races. * The idea of assimilation is that is…

Words 1547 - Pages 7

The Space Race

advanced space technology helped develop the setting of science and technology that exists today. The Space Race was accompanied by many changes, including technological, school systems, and the way we view outer space today. The effect outer space exploration has on the human race, and that new discoveries will have on the way we live our lives in the future, is enormous. The conclusion of The Space Race not only put an end to the U.S. and Russian conflict of The Cold War, but catalyzed a revolution in…

Words 804 - Pages 4

Myth Of Race

A human race is a large population of closely related people who share common genetic markers, but who are also related, only but slightly less close to other human beings on earth. The existence of race pertains to how people tend to congregate with people from their own region. Race as some see it is just a pigment of our imagination. The race is a method used to draw attention to the legal, political and social construction of categories that were formatted to keep people in their place or as…

Words 1473 - Pages 6

Race And Ethnicity

defined, race and ethnicity tend to play a major role. Society has become more aware that these two things are not the same. Race and ethnicity are two concepts often merged together in a contemporary time. However, looking at the two concepts separately proves the two to be different. When studied the two theoretical perspectives are seen through integration - in other words the main things noted about them are American ideals such as acculturation. It is extremely important to study race and ethnicity…

Words 970 - Pages 4

Race And Racism

true statement however that idea has not been applied to everyone. From the moment that the idea of race was created there has been an unequal treatment of groups of people. When looking at history we see that “race” did not exist to define racial inferiority. This attributes to the idea that race is a social construct created by society that was not fully developed till mid-nineteenth century. Race and Racism are alive and well, it thrives in people denying it is existence. There are groups of people…

Words 834 - Pages 4

Race To Nowhere

Hours and hours on end of work, Sleepless nights, stressful days etc... Those are feelings/symptoms of kids from elementary school through college. The Race to Nowhere is all about what students of all ages have had to endure or will have to endure or will have to go through in their many years of school. The Race to Nowhere documentary supports their claims through student testimonials, expert testimonials, and the audience's connection to the claims and people in the documentary. Student testimonials…

Words 531 - Pages 3