How did Mauss study 'techniques of the body'?
I approached the 'techniques of the body' by examining how societies transmit and enforce specific ways of using one's body. These are not innate, but learned habits, passed down through generations. My method involved comparing ethnographic data from diverse cultures – from walking and swimming to childbirth and sexual practices – to show how social and cultural contexts shape even our most fundamental physical actions. The body itself becomes a site of social practice and cultural transmission, understood as a 'total social fact'.
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