Bodies in the Making: Transgressions and Transformations [Paperback]

Nancy N. Chen (Editor), Helene Moglen (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2007

In the twenty-first century, the body is experienced less as a fixed entity than it is as a protean product and a project of technological, medical and artistic invention. These essays address the proliferation of such transformative practices as tattooing, piercing, self-cutting, cosmetic and trans-sexual surgery, prosthetics, organ transplants and life extension technologies. Establishing links among these varied practices, the contributors illuminate the dramatic and widespread changes that have taken place across generations in attitudes towards the relation of the body to the mind, to agency and to subjectivity. This book also addresses a paradox that has shaped recent body modification debates. Although physical transformations are usually experienced as self-expressive and libratory, they are frequently understood to be socially determined, economically driven and culturally enmeshed. Contributors to the volume engage this contradiction directly, exploring ways in which diverse body practices are capable of subverting power while also at times re-inscribing it.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

There are twenty-two contributors to this project, which evolved out of a conference held at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2005.

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: New Pacific Press; 1 edition (April 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097125463X
• ISBN-13: 978-0971254633
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.6 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,449,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful, January 12, 2011

By 

uimmiu - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Bodies in the Making: Transgressions and Transformations (Paperback)

I initially bought this book because of its beautiful and intriguing cover. It turned out to be a rather useful source of inspiration for a few essays and even a couple of drawings. It also played a part in helping me choose a topic for my BA thesis in anthropology. I must admit that I was rather skeptical when I first saw the book once it arrived - it was smaller than I had imagined and the paragraphs were short and didn't seem to contain much information. Looks are deceiving! Each short paragraph is well composed and introduces the reader to yet another way of thinking of and looking at the art of body modification. It's by no means a full overview of body modification techniques but it will give new ideas to old-timers and it will plant seeds of interest in newcomers.

3.0 out of 5 stars just kind of ok, October 9, 2009

By 

JoseMaria (elsewhere) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Bodies in the Making: Transgressions and Transformations (Paperback)

This book has some interesting ideas. But, in my opinion, the writing (or editing) is kind of lacking. The chapters don't have much depth and it generally reads much like what it is - a collection of stuff generated from a conference. Overall, it's just kind of OK.

5.0 out of 5 stars Some essays better than others, but all in all, great, November 9, 2008

By 

Erin Michael Vondrak "schismatica" (Redlands, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bodies in the Making: Transgressions and Transformations (Paperback)

It was a very interesting book and what made it compelling was that it is a compilation of various essays revolving around one topic but all quite unique. I enjoyed it greatly.