The stroy of Nacirema, Study notes of English Literature

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Eastern

Illinois

Writing

Project

Summer Institute

Demonstration Anthology

• Nathan Anastas, “The Story of Nacirema”------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents
• Ryan D’Arcy, “U.S. History: Wounded Knee Primary Sources”-----------------------
• Kimberly Duckett, “The Best Part of Me”-------------------------------------------------
• Melissa Etchison, “I am Poem”-------------------------------------------------------------
• Michelle Hawkins, “Ten Best Sentences”------------------------------------------------
• Kendall Huffman, “Nonfiction and Infographics”---------------------------------------
• Kristy Kash Rodriguez, “Poster Strategy”-------------------------------------------------
• Angie Kelly, “Close Reading with Music”-------------------------------------------------
• Jamie Michel, “The Immigrant Issue”-----------------------------------------------------
• Kristin Runyon, “Creating a Plausible Interpretation w/Textual Evidence”------
• Briana Thornton, “Students Become the Teacher”-------------------------------------
• Hannah Yeam, “What’s in a Meme?”------------------------------------------------------

4 be viewed from their own perspective and judged by their own standards. Applying your own views or standards to a foreign culture will always contaminate anything of value that could be learned from that culture. This exercise demonstrates that our own culture, when viewed from a foreign and slightly ethnocentric perspective, can seem barbaric and savage. While you are reading be on the lookout for & record: ● Three facts that standout, interest, or excite you… ● Two questions that you would like to have answered… ● One memorable & interesting quote…

Body Ritual among the Nacirema" by Horace Miner

American Anthropologist 58:3, June 1956 The anthropologist has become so familiar with the diversity of ways in which ¶ 1 different people behave in similar situations that he is not apt to be surprised

5 by even the most exotic customs. In fact, if all of the logically possible combinations of behavior have not been found somewhere in the world, he is apt to suspect that they must be present in some yet undescribed tribe. The point has, in fact, been expressed with respect to clan organization by Murdock (1949: 71). In this light, the magical beliefs and practices of the Nacirema present such unusual aspects that it seems desirable to describe them as an example of the extremes to which human behavior can go. Nacirema culture is characterized by a highly developed market economy (^) ¶ 3 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 ¶ 4 human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility [weakness] and disease. Incarcerated in such a body, man's only hope is to avert these characteristics through the use 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 houses and, in fact, the opulence [luxury] of a house is often referred to in terms of the number of such ritual centers it possesses. Most houses are of wattle and daub construction [some arrangement of branches or other wooden materials], but the shrine rooms of the more wealthy are walled with stone. Poorer families imitate the rich by applying pottery plaques to their shrine walls. While each family has at least one such shrine, the rituals associated with it ¶ 5 are not family ceremonies but are private and secret. The rites are normally only discussed with children, and then only during the period when they are being initiated into these mysteries. I was able, however, to establish sufficient rapport [relationship] with the natives to examine these shrines and to have the rituals described to me.

7 The daily body ritual performed by everyone includes a mouth- rite. Despite (^) ¶ the fact that these people are so punctilious [careful or mindful] about care of 10 the mouth, this rite involves a practice which strikes the uninitiated stranger as revolting. It was reported to me that the ritual consists of inserting a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical powders, and then moving the bundle in a highly formalized series of gestures In addition to the private mouth- rite, the people seek out a holy- mouth- man ¶ once or twice a year. These practitioners have an impressive set of (^) 11 paraphernalia [tools], consisting of a variety of augers, awls, probes, and prods. The use of these objects in the exorcism of the evils of the mouth involves almost unbelievable ritual torture of the client. The holy- mouth- man opens the client's mouth and, using the above mentioned tools, enlarges any holes which decay may have created in the teeth. Magical materials are put into these holes. If there are no naturally occurring holes in the teeth, large sections of one or more teeth are gouged out so that the supernatural substance can be applied. In the client's view, the purpose of these ministrations [treatment] is to arrest decay and to draw friends. The extremely sacred and traditional character of the rite is evident in the fact that the natives return to the holy- mouth- men year after year, despite the fact that their teeth continue to decay. It is to be hoped that, when a thorough study of the Nacirema is made, there ¶ will be careful inquiry into the personality structure of these people. One has (^) 12 but to watch the gleam in the eye of a holy- mouth- man, as he jabs an awl into an exposed nerve, to suspect that a certain amount of sadism [cruelty for the sake of deriving enjoyment] is involved. If this can be established, a very interesting pattern emerges, for most of the population shows definite masochistic [self- infliction of pain] tendencies. It was to these that Professor Linton referred in discussing a distinctive part of the daily body ritual which is performed only by men. This part of the rite includes scraping and lacerating the surface of the face with a sharp instrument. Special women's rites are performed only four times during each lunar month, but what they lack in frequency is made up in barbarity. As part of this ceremony, women bake their heads in small ovens for about an hour. The theoretically interesting point is that what seems to be a preponderantly masochistic people have developed sadistic specialists. The medicine men have an imposing temple, or latipso , in every community (^) ¶ of any size. The more elaborate ceremonies required to treat very sick (^) 13 patients can only be performed at this temple. These ceremonies involve not only the thaumaturge [magician], but a permanent group of vestal maidens who move sedately [calmly or deliberately] about the temple chambers in distinctive costume and headdress.

8 The latipso ceremonies are so harsh that it is phenomenal that a fair ¶ proportion of the really sick natives who enter the temple ever recover. Small (^) 14 children whose indoctrination is still incomplete have been known to resist attempts to take them to the temple because "that is where you go to die." Despite this fact, sick adults are not only willing but eager to undergo the protracted [lasting many days] ritual purification, if they can afford to do so. No matter how ill the supplicant [seeker of relief] or how grave the emergency, the guardians of many temples will not admit a client if he cannot give a rich gift to the custodian. Even after one has gained and survived the ceremonies, the guardians will not permit the neophyte [new arrival] to leave until he makes still another gift. The supplicant entering the temple is first stripped of all his or her clothes. In ¶ everyday life the Nacirema avoids exposure of his body and its natural (^) 15 functions. Bathing and excretory acts are performed only in the secrecy of the household shrine, where they are ritualized as part of the body- rites. Psychological shock results from the fact that body secrecy is suddenly lost upon entry into the latipso. A man, whose own wife has never seen him in an excretory act, suddenly finds himself naked and assisted by a vestal maiden while he performs his natural functions into a sacred vessel. This sort of ceremonial treatment is necessitated by the fact that the excreta [bodily waste] are used by a diviner to ascertain [find knowledge about] the course and nature of the client's sickness. Female clients, on the other hand, find their naked bodies are subjected to the scrutiny, manipulation and prodding of the medicine men. Few supplicants in the temple are well enough to do anything but lie on their (^) ¶ hard beds. The daily ceremonies, like the rites of the holy- mouth- men, involve (^) 16 discomfort and torture. With ritual precision, the vestals awaken their miserable charges each dawn and roll them about on their beds of pain while performing ablutions, in the formal movements of which the maidens are highly trained. At other times they insert magic wands in the supplicant's mouth or force him to eat substances which are supposed to be healing. From time to time the medicine men come to their clients and jab magically treated needles into their flesh. The fact that these temple ceremonies may not cure, and may even kill the neophyte, in no way decreases the people's faith in the medicine men.

“Looking from far and above, from our high places of safety in the developed civilization, it is easy to see all the crudity and irrelevance of magic. But without its power and guidance early man could not have mastered his practical difficulties as he has done, nor could man have advanced to the higher stages of civilization.” REFERENCES CITED Linton, Ralph 1936 The Study of Man. New York, D. AppletonCentury Co. Malinowsli, Bronislaw 1948 Magic, Science, and Religion. Glencoe, The Free Press. Murdock, George P. 1949 Social Structure. New York, The Macmillan Co. Questions :

1. Given that the Nacirema have such a seemingly negative body image, how do you think the average person felt on a daily basis? Explain.
2. The Nacirema seem psychologically dependant on magical potions and powders in order to get through the challenges of daily life. Do you think that this is a good thing or a bad thing? Explain.
3. Many Nacirema rituals involve a large amount of pain or discomfort (slicing of faces, baking of heads, ritual starvation, etc.). Does it seem to you that such rituals do more harm than good? Explain.
4. In your opinion, why do most “listeners” suspect that mothers are responsible for bringing curses their children and not fathers? (Hint: When do listeners believe that most children’s curses begin?)
5. Think about the ways that men and women are treated among the Nacirema. Giving specific examples, is the Nacirema culture one that stresses equality or inequality of the sexes?
6. In your opinion, given that many Nacirema wish to avoid having children, what might this mean for the future of the culture as a whole?
7. What is the “secret” of the Nacirema?

Ryan D’Arcy US History: Wounded Knee Primary Sources Rationale: Students are exposed to media and written materials every day, but they seldom stop to think that what they read was written for a purpose or had an agenda. After having assigned my students the section of the chapter dealing with Wounded Knee the previous day, I will have them break into three groups. Each group will be responsible for interpreting a primary source related to the Wounded Knee Massacre through close reading and be prepared to discuss their findings with the rest of the class. Objectives:

1. SS.IS.4.9-12: Gather and evaluate information from multiple sources while considering the origin, credibility, point of view, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources
2. SS.IS.4.9-12: Gather and evaluate information from multiple sources while considering the origin, credibility, point of view, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources.
3. SS.CV.1.9-12: Distinguish the rights, roles, powers, and responsibilities of individuals and institutions in the political system.
4. SS.CV.5.9-12: Analyze the impact of personal interest and diverse perspectives on the application of civic dispositions, democratic principles, constitutional rights, and human rights.
5. SS.G.12.9-12: Evaluate how competition for scarce natural resources contributes to conflict and cooperation within and among countries.
6. SS.H.7.9-12: Identify the role of individuals, groups, and institutions in people’s struggle for safety, freedom, equality and justice.
7. SS.H.8.9-12: Analyze key historical events and contributions of individuals through a variety of perspectives, including those of historically underrepresented groups.
8. SS.H.9.9-12: Analyze the relationship between historical sources and the secondary interpretations made from them.

Wounded Knee HAMLET, SOUTH DAKOTA, UNITED STATES WRITTEN BY: The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica RELATED TOPICS

• list of cities and towns in the United States
• South Dakota
• United States Wounded Knee, hamlet and creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota, U.S. It was the site of two conflicts between North American Indians and representatives of the U.S. government. On Dec. 29, 1890, more than 200 Sioux men, women, and children were massacred by U.S. troops in what has been called the Battle of Wounded Knee, an episode that concluded the conquest of the North American Indian. Reaching out for some hope of salvation from hard conditions, such as semistarvation caused by reduction in the size of their reservation in the late 1880s, the Teton Sioux responded affirmatively to Wovoka, a Paiute prophet who promised the disappearance of the white man and a return of native lands and buffalo if certain rites and dances were performed. These rites, known as the Ghost Dance, caused alarm among whites and led to federal military intervention. The army subdued the Ghost Dance movement, but Chief Sitting Bull was killed by reservation police while being arrested (December 14), and a few hundred Sioux left their reservation at Pine Ridge, seeking to hide in the Badlands. Technically classified as hostiles because they had left the reservation, the Indians gathered around Chief Big Foot (byname of Chief Spotted Elk), who was dying of pneumonia. However, they surrendered quietly to pursuing troops of the 7th Cavalry on the night of December 28. Following an overnight encampment near Wounded Knee Creek, the Indians were surrounded and were nearly disarmed when a scuffle broke out over a young brave’s new rifle. A shot was fired from within the group of struggling men, and a trooper fell. From close range the soldiers, supported by machine guns, fired into the Indians, whose only arms were the clubs and knives that they had hidden in blankets. Fleeing Indians were pursued, and some were killed miles from the camp. Although the number of Indian dead is unknown (the Indians removed some of the dead later), 144 Indians, including 44 women and 16 children, were buried in a mass grave the following spring when the weather permitted the army to return. About 30 soldiers were killed during the hostilities.

Primary Source Analysis: Wounded Knee

1. Who wrote your document and why (infer)?
2. Who is the author’s intended audience? How do you know that? Cite specific textual evidence.
3. What does the author expect you to already know or believe?
4. What bias does the author exhibit? Using textual evidence, demonstrate how you determined this.
5. How does this document support the author’s case (cite evidence)?
6. How does the argument of this document relate to the story presented in your textbook?

7. Finished poems will be framed along with picture for bulletin board.
8. Closure: Allow students to share their poems and point out as a class the descriptive words or ideas they used in them.
9. Evaluation: Completion of descriptive poems by students. Adaptation:
10. Upper grade levels could possibly write several different types of poems (Haiku, Limerick, acrostic, etc.)... all of which, describe the part they chose.
11. Students who feel they struggle with poetry could choose a different way of writing their description. Resources: Connell, G. (2013). The best part of me: Positive self image poetry. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top teaching/2013/03/best part me positive self image poetry Ewald, W. (2002). The best part of me. New York, NY: Hachettte Book Group, Inc.

“I AM” POEM

Melissa Etchison

Learning Goal: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme. Objective: An “I Am” Poem is used to fulfill the objective of analyzing a character in a novel or a short story. Materials: Copy of article on Martin Luther King, Jr. 2 copies per student of “I Am” poem templates Activities: Ø Think-­‐Pair-­‐Share in groups of 3 to show what the students already know about Martin Luther King Jr. After group discussion have the groups share with the overall class. Ø Give students the handout on Martin Luther King, Jr. Ø Give students 10-­‐15 minutes to read the article on Martin Luther King, Jr. Ø Introduce “I AM” Poem to the class. Introduce the 2 types (Formulaic Type and Free Verse). State that we are going to do the Formulaic Type of “I AM” Poem. Ø Ask the students if they have ever done an “I Am” poem before in their class or coursework they have taken.

Biography: Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights activist in the 1950s and 1960s. He led non-violent protests to fight for the rights of all people including African Americans. He hoped that America and the world could become a colorblind society where race would not impact a person's civil rights. He is considered one of the great orators of modern times, and his speeches still inspire many to this day. Where did Martin grow up? Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, GA on January 15, 1929. He went to Booker T. Washington High School. He was so smart that he skipped two grades in high school. He started his college education at Morehouse College at the young age of fifteen. After getting his degree in sociology from Morehouse, Martin got a divinity degree from Crozer Seminary and then got his doctor's degree in theology from Boston University. Martin's dad was a preacher which inspired Martin to pursue the ministry. He had a younger brother and an older sister. In 1953 he married Coretta Scott. Later, they would have four children including Yolanda, Martin, Dexter, and Bernice. How did he get involved in civil rights? In his first major civil rights action, Martin Luther King, Jr. led the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This started when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. She was arrested and spent the night in jail. As a result, Martin helped to organize a boycott of the public transportation system in Montgomery. The boycott lasted for over a year. It was very tense at times. Martin was arrested and his house was bombed. In the end, however, Martin prevailed and segregation on the Montgomery buses came to an end. When did King give his famous "I Have a Dream" speech? In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. helped to organize the famous "March on Washington". Over 250, people attended this march in an effort to show the importance of civil rights legislation. Some of the issues the march hoped to accomplish included an end to segregation in public schools, protection from police abuse, and to get laws passed that would prevent discrimination in employment. It was at this march where Martin gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. This speech has become one of the most famous speeches in history. The March on Washington was a great success. The Civil Rights Act was passed a year later in 1964. How did he die? Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4. 1968 in Memphis, TN. While standing on the balcony of his hotel, he was shot by James Earl Ray. Interesting Facts about Martin Luther King, Jr. King was the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in

1964. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a national holiday. At the Atlanta premier of the movie Gone with the Wind, Martin sang with his church choir. There are over 730 streets in the United States named after Martin Luther King, Jr. One of his main influences was Mohandas Gandhi who taught people to protest in a non-violent manner. He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The name on his original birth certificate is Michael King. This was a mistake, however. He was supposed to be named after his father who was named for Martin Luther, the leader of the Christian reformation movement. He is often referred to by his initials MLK. Read more at: http://www.ducksters.com/biography/martin_luther_king_jr.php

CREATIVE WRITING: “I AM …” POEM I AM ______________________________ I WANT ___________________________ I WISH ____________________________ I DON’T UNDERSTAND __________________________ I HEAR ____________________________ I SEE ______________________________ I GET ANGRY ABOUT ___________________________ I DREAM ABOUT _______________________________ I AM __________________________________________