Proposal & Relational Mapping

[ 3 to 5 pages including the relational map] Marcel Mauss originally said the concept, “body technique” refers to “the ways in which from society to society [people] know how to use their bodies.” Gesture, attitude, and comportment seem “natural” when they are “the shared property of an entire culture.” In this sense the body is used as a kind of instrument of expression and communications. Suffice it to say that when we talk about “healthy” bodies, “fit” bodies, or “disabled” bodies, we are also talking about types of social relations. The body then becomes a stage upon which sets of social interactions are performed by interactors. At the same time, interactors tend to go through life largely unaware of their own bodies. On a personal level, the body can then be an elusive thing. Confirmation of us and our individual social identities, nonetheless, becomes clear when we delve into the social aspirations that are bound up with body projects. Through the investigation of body projects, the body becomes, as Chris Shelling says, an “entity which is in a process of becoming; a project which should be worked at and accomplished as part of [the production of] self-identity.”   The objectives of this and the next assignment are twofold: (1) to investigate what “plays out” on your body as a body project, and (2) to recover the absent body that you seem to displace when you perform body techniques that are distinct to the body project. To begin your investigation, in this assignment, you will (a) propose a body project that you would like to work on 【can choose body building ,i am a girl for keeping nice body shape and keep healthy】 【Body project can make an individual achieve a personal sense of selfidentity while, at the same time, being made to fit into Society】 (b) create a relational map of a performance, performance characteristics and performative roles that illustrate a performative aspect of the body project. Following Michael Brian Schiffer, a performance is one interactor’s minimal engagement with another in a specific interaction.   Step One – Select a Body Project   The starting-point for any study of body projects is looking at performances that “shape” what the body does in a body project. In order to perform appropriately or skillfully, an interactor must possess certain capabilities known as performance characteristics. A performance characteristic is a capability, competence, or skill that can be exercised (i.e., “come into play”) in a specific performance and is effective in a given interaction. Performances are generally part of regular, everyday routines that an individual uses to fit into a society. In this assignment, I want you to start-off your investigation of a body project by selecting one performance that is important to you fostering a sense of who you are as a social actor fitting into the society you live in. More specifically, I want you to select one performance associated with (an) attribute(s) of your body that has (have) significant impact on how you are able (allowed?) to fit into the society you live in as a member. This may also mean selecting a performance that is especially important to how you see yourself and want to be seen by others.   Step Two – “Mapping” Instructions Produce a “relational map” of a performance, performance characteristics and performative roles that attend to a body project that you are intending to study. The relational map will be used in your written proposal (Step Three) to illustrate a concise description of a cast of social interactors who organize their performances around explicit social expectations and obligations and in accordance with certain social standards. Your proposal should not only include the map but also provide a written description that explains what the map is about. Be sure to explain why the performance is relevant to your life and which performance characteristics “fit” with which performative roles. Also explain the hierarchy of performative roles that extend from an “intermediate” zone to a “core” zone of what is to be emulated and a “marginal/side-lined” zone of those whose performances do not meet the standards of what is expected of them. See the example of a relational map for “Walking with Arthritis” on page 4 of these guidelines. Note that there is an “intermediate” zone in which the performative role is one of emulating the ideal type exemplified by the performative role of the “core” zone. Also make note that ideal types change over time and anyone who believes that they belong in the core zone are continuously under pressure to maintain their status – but constantly under threat of being devalued. Conversely, those who are marginalized may redeem their value under certain terms and conditions in relation to the mainstream of the intermediate zone.   Step Three – Writing up the Proposal for Investigating a Body Technique   This is a proposal – not an essay. It should be 3 to 5 pages including the relational map.   First, describe the body project you intend to investigate and why it is relevant to you. Second, explain what attribute(s) of your body is (are) important to a performance associated the body project and how this has had a significant impact on how you have been able (allowed?) to fit into the society you live in. Third, use your relational map to illustrate and describe (i) the performance characteristics that other people see when your body does the performance, (ii) any artefacts that are important to doing the performance, and (iii) how the different performative roles affect how people evaluate your performance.