"Body Ritual of the Nacirema": Learning about Cultures and Making Inferences

“Body Ritual among the Nacirema” is a satirical scholarly article written by Horace Miner and published in a 1956 issue of American Archaeologist. In the article, Miner describes the odd habits of the Nacirema culture, specifically their body rituals. While many professionals (and students) who read this were/are fooled into thinking this is a real culture Miner had discovered, close reading and inferences reveal the Nacirema are actually Americans (Nacirema spelled backwards) and he’s describing our bathroom and medical behaviors.

In this product, students will:
Close Read
Mind Map
Make Inferences
Reflect and Apply
Extend and Imitate

This product is appropriate for high school history or English. I’ve used it in a general education 9th/10th grade history class studying culture and developing historical thinking skills. I’ve also used it with AP Language students studying satire. It works well at different ability and grade levels.