Short Course by Prof Julieta Gaztañaga: Cross-Cultural Ideas On Beauty

The anthropology of beauty is the study of how different cultures perceive, create, and value beauty across time and space.
About this Event

One day short course on 'Cross-cultural ideas on beauty' combines a lecture, discussions and practical exercises.
Julieta Gaztañaga is Associate Professor at the University of Buenos Aires. She specializes in visual and political anthropology.
The anthropology of beauty is the study of how different cultures perceive, create, and value beauty across time and space. Rather than treating beauty as a universal, objective truth, it examines how aesthetic standards are tied to social customs, moral values, religious beliefs, and economic hierarchies.
*Cultural Relativism: Anthropologists emphasize that what is considered beautiful changes drastically depending on the society, challenging the idea of a universal standard.
*Symbolic & Moral Meanings: Beauty is deeply intertwined with cultural definitions of what is "good," proper, or sacred. For example, studies of beauty salons in India show how beautification intersects with Hindu mythology and provides a way for women to navigate social standing and ethical subjectivities.
*Power & Identity: Ideals of beauty are bound up in race, class, and gender. Beauty practices can act as tools of oppression, but they also serve as forms of empowerment, resistance, and self-making.
*Materiality: Anthropologists look at the active creation of beauty—studying the craft, the materials used, and the sensory experiences involved in making art or beautifying the body. 
This event is part of the Anthropology Summer School London held near Victoria Park, Hackney and online.
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