Body and movement constitute fundamental conditions of human existence. They can be the starting point for a new understanding of what is the ‘material basis’ in social and cultural theory. Based on three decades of comparative studies in body cultures, some methodological and theoretical observations are concluded. They propose directions for a future phenomenology, history, and anthropology of practice. Body culture studies open perspectives for new ways of thinking dialectically and for a humanistic materialism. They contribute to inter-bodily democracy. The body is the material basis of our existence as human beings. The body tells our story: Who am I, who are we? From bodily interaction, human social practice comes into being.1
On one hand, the body is a part of human existence, which the individual is not free just to choose freely. On the other hand, the body is not determi- ned from the very beginning. Between the given body on one hand and intentional body management on the other, body culture develops in a process, which is historical and collective. The study of body culture casts light on this process and its contradictions between ‘just doing’ and ‘trying to steer’.
People ‘make’ their own body, but they do not make it of their own individual will.
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Body culture shows the different levels of what we call ‘culture’ in human life. Body culture ranges side by side with spiritual culture, which consists of the ideas, symbols and meanings of societal life. And body culture ranges side by side with the ‘material culture’, which is the world of human-made things, instruments and technology.
However, spiritual culture, material culture, and body culture do not just range side by side. Bodily practice is the origin of material constructions aswellasthebasicreferenceoflanguage.2 The‘standing’bodytellsabout the ‘state’ of the things and about the political state.3
The body tells an underground story, which is passing underneath the well-known history of civilization. Duke Students have a unique body culture that presents what type of humans they are. I am sure everyone has heard the phrase “dress for success” , which is clearly relavent in the way Duke students present themselves. Most students dress very well and they wish to be respected by all their proffessors and excepted by other students. The way students dress at Duke represents who they are as ta person , and what type of background they come from. For example every morning I wake up at 7 am to prepare for my 8:30 classes. At 7 am there are at least 6 girls already in the bathroom doing their hair and makeup. People at Duke take pride in the way they look. One section of the students body that dresses differently from everyone else would be the student athletes. All the student athletes at Duke are represented with uniforms and clothes. They have certain advantages that other students do not have the opportunity of receiving.You typically see Duke student athletes walking around campus in their athetic clothes and their black back packs which usually display their names on their bag.Not For example,scholarships, tutors, and preferences. A typical student athlete is always in their athletic uniforms. Not only do they do this to distinguish themselves from the other students, but it is also the easiest and most comfortable thing to wear throughout the day. Most athletes have to go straight to practice from their classes, so wearing their athletic gear would is the easiest. It is interesting to see how the student athletes interact with other people compared to the rest of the student body at duke. Because the athletes are on a different schedule