Tattoo Histories

Tattoo Histories ****discusses the relevance of tattooing in the socio-cultural construction of bodies, boundaries, and identities. Its interdisciplinary approach facilitates historical and contemporary perspectives on the transcultural histories, narratives, and practices related to tattoos.

Tattoo Histories ****is an edited volume which analyses and discusses the relevance of tattooing in the socio-cultural construction of bodies, boundaries, and identities, among both individuals and groups. Its interdisciplinary approach facilitates historical as well as contemporary perspectives. Rather than presenting a universal, essentialized history of tattooing, the volume's objective is to focus on the entangled and transcultural histories, narratives, and practices related to tattoos. Contributions stem from various fields, including Archaeology, Art History, Classics, History, Linguistics, Media and Literary Studies, Social and Cultural Anthropology, and Sociology. They advance the current endeavour on the part of tattoo scholars to challenge Eurocentric and North American biases prevalent in much of tattoo research, by including various analyses based in locations such as Malaysia, Israel, East Africa, and India. The thematic focus is on the transformative capacity of tattoos and tattooing, with regard to the social construction of bodies and subjectivity; the (re-)creation of social relationships through the definition of (non-)tattooed others; the formation and consolidation of group identities, traditions, and authenticity; and the conceptualization of art and its relevance to tattoo artist-tattooee relations.

Autorentext

Sinah Theres Kloß is a research associate at the Morphomata Center for Advanced Studies, University of Cologne, Germany.

Klappentext

Tattoo Histories discusses the relevance of tattooing in the socio-cultural construction of bodies, boundaries, and identities. Its interdisciplinary approach facilitates historical and contemporary perspectives on the transcultural histories, narratives, and practices related to tattoos.

Inhalt

Introduction 1. Indelible Ink: An Introduction to the Histories, Narratives, and Practices of Tattooing Part I: Tattoos as Individual or Communal Body Projects 2. "I Just Want It to Look Pretty": Reproducing Heteronormative Gender Roles through Tattoo Reality TV: Miami Ink 3. Identity, Gender Roles, and Tattooing among Italian Lesbian Women 4. Mi Familia: Latina Women in the US Negotiate Identity and Social Sanctions Through Tattooing Part II: Tattoos and Othering 5. "If Skin Were Parchment": Tattoos in Antiquity 6. Marking France's Enemies: Masculinity, Sexuality, and the Tattoo in Revolutionary France 7. "So Much Magic on Your Flesh": The Ma(r)king of Selves in the TV Series Salem 8. The True Life and Adventures of Tattooed Performers: Tattoos, Captivity Narratives, and the Savage in Literature Part III: (De-)Colonization, Revitalization, and Cultural Appropriation 9. Indigenous (Re)inscription: Transmission of Cultural Knowledge(s) through Tattoos as Resistance 10. The Custom of Marking the Body among the Santals of India 11. Sacred Skin: Tattooing, Memory, and Identity among the Naga of India 12. Chinese Characters on Foreign Bodies: Chinese Character Tattoos and Cultural Appropriation 13. Skinscape Souvenirs and Globalized Bodies: Tattoo Tourism and Language in East Africa Part IV: Tattoo as Embodied Art 14. Shame Laid Bare: Damien Hirst's Tattoo Work butterfly, divided 15. ***Incompatible Inking Ideologies in the Ancient Greek World 16. Negotiating a Personal Experience: Identity Affirmation of the Horimono* Artist