Christian Dick
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Fall 2014 (2151)
Essay Assignment #1
Nacirema or America?
Body Ritual among the Nacirema, an article written by Horace Miner in June of
1965. It Describes the way of life of what is first interrupted a very distant and primitive
civilization. Doing very mystical and almost unheard of tasks and rituals. Than later be–
ing revealed as our own Country and culture.
Originally after reading the article about the Nacirema I believed this to be a very
primitive and undeveloped tribe. However once we began the class discussion and later
revealed that this was in turn our own culture. I was shocked, at first almost in disbelief.
Though after reanalyzing the bullets and things we had written on the board, it began to
make sense seeing that this was indeed our own culture and each thing that was listed
actually was something that we did do. Almost as if it were written from someone on the
outside world looking in our own. It was not the acts which were performed which
caused this feelings, but the actual dialect which was used to describe these occur–
rences, “rituals”.
After reading the article and discussing it with the class. It does change not
change how I actually feel about the United States, but it does bring to my attention that
