Bozeman Magazine

Cultural and social identity is often expressed through distinctive characteristics easily observed by onlookers and include such markers as clothing, food, housing, and social or religious rituals. But the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures associated with these cultural markers have also been used historically to justify social inequality and prejudice against particular class, ethnic, and religious groups. This lecture will explore how the senses have played a major role in the creation of ideas about ‘cultural otherness’ and the consequences of such beliefs.