Contact:  Rick Peterson, Manager of News Services, 920/832-6590
For Immediate Release
April 18, 2000

Written in the Flesh:  Lawrence University Lecture Examines Tattoos as
Stories 


     APPLETON, WIS. -- Consider the tattoo.  Long the artistic
expression of choice for societal "outsiders" -- psychotics, criminals,
punk rockers, gang members -- tattoos spark imaginations, provoke
reactions, challenge the boundaries that separate normal and abnormal.
They can both reinforce gender stereotypes and throw them into question.
Written in the flesh, they can force us to expand our definition of
"text," "story," and "narrative."
     Judith Sarnecki, associate professor of French at Lawrence
University, examines the story-telling role of tattoos Wednesday, April
26 in a Lawrence Main Hall Forum.  Sarnecki presents, "Tattoo Stories:
Tattoos In/As Narrative," at 4:15 p.m. in Main Hall Room 109.   The
event is free and open to the public.
     Using examples from novels and films, Sarnecki will discuss how
tattoos are self contained stories that society often does not care to
hear, but call out to be read and understood on their own terms.  As
people feel more anonymous in a society that has become increasingly
technologically-driven, Sarnecki suggests tattoos provide a perceived
sense of permanence in an unstable world, enabling a person to shout, "I
have a story to tell." Those groups and individuals who feel voiceless,
powerless and most distanced from the "American dream," Sarnecki
contends, are the ones who often speak loudest via their tattoos.
     A specialist in 20th-century French literature and gender issues,
Sarnecki joined the Lawrence faculty in 1985.  She earned her Ph.D. at
the University of Wisconsin.