When you wake up every morning and get dressed, you probably don’t stop to think that you’re taking part in a millennia-old cultural tradition. How you choose to look is all part of the long history of humans altering their appearance to make a statement - from self-expression and individuality to signalling which group you belong to.
Join Eleanor Janega and a panel of experts to explore the weird, wonderful and fascinating history of body modification - from tattoos to outlandish clothing and hairdos, piercings to diets.
The panel comprises Dr Matt Lodder of the University of Essex, an art historian who works on tattoos and body piercings; Dr Susan Vincent from the University of York, a cultural historian of clothing and hair; and Dr Eleanor Barnett from Cardiff University, who is a cultural and religious historian with a particular interest in the history of food.
Ask yourself why you chose to present yourself the way you did today - and how that decision is part of an age long process of body modification that is inherently human.
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