Stories on Skin

<p><b>Helping expand archival studies into impermanent media like body art this book suggests that archiving must be considered a form of storytelling.</b> <p/>Tattoos are not merely decorative; they contain deep meaning for individuals and communities. They document their wearers' personal histories and position in families or society and they engage with a communal understanding of symbols. <p/>This unique book makes the case that archivists who want to preserve as full a human story as possible must recognize the rich documentation provided by tattoos. It also argues in a broader sense that traditional archives are not representative of the ways human beings transmit information through time and that they must be augmented by other types of storytelling to provide a more complete record of our species. <p/>Authors Baxter and Coyner touch on timely topics such as historical narratives storytelling cultural traditions the body as a text social control and memorialization by considering tattoos as a personal and community archive. Discussing tattoos as a storytelling tool the authors also challenge how history is kept and who gets included. <i>Stories on Skin</i> is committed to the rights of communities to tell their stories in their own way and to the power that right brings.</p>