Skin as a Medium: Historical and Cultural Perspectives

This chapter surveys scholarly sources that highlight the epistemological function of skin as a tool for cultural and social inquiry across a range of disciplines, including cultural history, media studies, physical anthropology, medical history, literature, art, and psychology. The review identifies five main thematic areas: the value of skin as a newsworthy topic; skin representation as a carrier of symbolic implications; the use of wounds as a literary trope; skin as a repository of truths and site of knowledge production; and skin discourses as reflections of social struggles and creative expressions. This review of literature not only establishes the foundational background for this book but also demonstrates the multifaceted interpretations of how the intertwining of skin’s physical properties with its culturally shifting meanings has been historically depicted in both non-fictional and fictional contexts.