On Monday we discussed the Nacirema. Although I had read this article in the past for another class I re-read it for OB. It still amazes me how changing a few words can change our perception of something. The first time I read this article, I first assumed the Nacirema were a strange uncultured peoples who practiced strange voodoo rituals. I was shocked to find out that we infact were the Nacirema people. However going back to read the article with that thought in mind, you can place a name to every "strange" ritual you read.
I think this is mostly due to the layers of culture we discussed. The artifacts of a culture are the smallest part of the structure but they are the only part that can be physically seen. Once we found out the values and beliefs that were behind each Nacirema ritual, the rituals have a meaning to us. Our initial thoughts must be similar to how archaeologist feel when they uncover artifacts from a extinct culture, and must find meaning behind it.
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