Body Modification (Published in association with Theory, Culture & Society)

This fascinating collection explores the growing range of body modification practices such as piercing, tattooing, branding, cutting and inserting implants, which have sprung up recently in the West. It asks whether this implies that we are returning to traditional tribal practices of inscribing identities onto bodies on the part of ′modern primitives′, or is body modification better understood as purely cosmetic and decorative with body markings merely temporary signs of transferable loyalties? Contributors address the question of the permanence of body transformation through fitness regimes and body building; look at the French performance artist Orlan and the Australian performance artist Stelarc who explored Western standard of beauty by experimenting on their own bodies with surgery and prosthetics; and explore the construction of the anatomy of a virtual body in Real Video Surgery and the Visible Human Project. Academics and students in sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, communication studies, social psycholgy and art and design

CONTRIBUTORS′ AFFILIATIONS OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA:

Robert Ayers Nottingham Trent University

Roy Boyne University of Durham

Julie Clarke RMIT University, Melbourne

Neal Curtis Nottingham Trent University

Ross Farnell Monash University, Australia

Jane Goodall UWS Hawkesbury, Australia

Christian Klesse University of Essex

Kevin McCarron Roehampton Institute, London

Lee Monaghan Cardiff University

Roberta Sassatelli University of East Anglia

Margrit Shildrick Staffordshire University

Stelarc Australian performance artist; Research Consultant, Nottingham Trent University

Paul Sweetman University of Durham

Bryan S Turner University of Cambridge

Nicholas Zurbrugg De Montfort University