''The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays'' is a 1973 book by the American anthropologist
Clifford Geertz
Clifford James Geertz (; August 23, 1926 – October 30, 2006) was an American anthropologist who is remembered mostly for his strong support for and influence on the practice of symbolic anthropology and who was considered "for three decades. ...
. The book was listed in the ''
Times Literary Supplement
''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp.
History
The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
'' as one of the 100 most important publications since World War Two.
Background
At the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, Geertz became a champion of
symbolic anthropology
Symbolic anthropology or, more broadly, symbolic and interpretive anthropology, is the study of cultural symbols and how those symbols can be used to gain a better understanding of a particular society. According to Clifford Geertz, " lieving, w ...
, a framework which gives prime attention to the role of symbols in constructing public meaning. In ''The Interpretation of Cultures'' (1973), Geertz studied culture as text. "Reading" of culture is important. To understand a culture, the organization of social activity, its institutional forms and the system of ideas which animate it must be understood; culture and social structure are two important analytical aspects in the study of culture. The personality of individual human beings, history, symbols (rituals, gestures, practices, tools etc) are important to study a culture.
Influence
Geertz was awarded the Sorokin Award in 1974 by the
American Sociological Association
The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fif ...
"for his brilliant essays on ''The Interpretation of Cultures''."
"Sorokin Award to Geertz and Jencks," ''ASA Footnotes'', Vol. 2, No. 8 (American Sociological Association, 1974): 3.
/ref> The book is considered to be influential within the anthropological discipline, particularly in terms of the discussion of thick description
In the social sciences and related fields, a thick description is a description of human social action that describes not just physical behaviors, but their context as interpreted by the actors as well, so that it can be better understood by an o ...
as a construct for examining social phenomena.
See also
*" Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight"
References
1973 non-fiction books
Anthropology books
Basic Books books
English-language books
Ethnographic literature
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