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Historically Speaking, Volume 8, Number 4, March/April 2007, p. 34

(Article)

DOI: 10.1353/hsp.2007.0056 

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34   Historically Speaking   March/April 2007

in different directions. He  set off  in many directionshimself,  scattering his  ideas across  a  vast landscape, just   as   he   gathered them   from   many   differentsources.   He   was   a   master without   disciples — 

one   of   a   kind.

Robert Darnton is the Shelby Cullom Davis   '30 Pro-fessor  of  European History at Princeton  University.

He is the author  of  several books and articles on theEnlightenment,  including The  Forbidden Best-Sellers  of   Pre-Revolutionary France   (Norton,1995).

Geertz among   the   Historians

Peter   Burke

At   first sight,   the   influence   that   CliffordGeertz 's   ideas have   had   on   historians,   in-

cluding such leading   figures   as   Robert

Darnton  and  Rhys  Isaac,  is   something  of   a puzzle.By contrast, the   reasons for  his  influence on  his   fel-low  anthropologists   are   reasonably  clear.   His  reac-tion   against positivist,   evolutionary,   functionalist,and   scientific  anthropologies  came unusually  earlyand   was   unusually powerful. He   was,   as   far   as   Iknow,   the   first  anthropologist  toalign himself  with the   hermeneu-tic   tradition,   in   particular   withthe work    of    Hans-GeorgGadamer   and   Paul   Ricoeur, at   a

time when his colleagues were ei-ther   structuralists,   following   themodel of  Claude Lévi-Strauss,  or 

structural- functionalists,  as in  t he

case of   the   Anglo-American  tra-dition.  Geertz   saw  anthropologyas  on e  of  th e humanities, and  s o

an   appropriate topic   of   essaysfor the general reader  in   a   liter-ary   tradition that   runs fromMontaigne to  Emerson  and   be-yond:   the tradition  of   discussing what  it  means to be human.

I   find it  more  difficult to  explain — or  should  Isay   interpret— the considerable influence   thatGeertz has exercised  over the last thirty years  or  soon academic historians,   or  at  least  on   a   substantial

and articulate minority  of   that  large  and heteroge-neous profession.  Since  traditional historical meth-

ods   have   been   closer to  hermeneutics than   theyever  were  to   structuralism  or   functionalism,  Geertz

appears to  have been  telling us — with unusual  elo-quence and wit, it is   true — what  we already  knew.Perhaps   the  best  way   to be influential   is   preciselyto mix familiar  with unfamiliar  ideas in  almost equaldoses, adding the  spice of  novelty to recommenda-tions   already perceived to  be sound.

To go  any  deeper  in  the  search  for explanationsrequires imitating Geertz  himself   and making useof   a   micro-example.   Although   many   history   stu-dents  have  been required to read   "Thick  Descrip-tion,"   and   the   idea   of    a   "theater   state"   has

 provoked  considerable debate among historians of 

Europe as  well as  of  Asia, Geertz 's most-cited essayremains   "Deep  Play:  Notes  on the   Balinese Cock-fight." It  is  not  difficult to  understand why. The au-

thor   gives   a   vivid   description   of    a   dramaticoccasion that he  himself compares with  a  perform-ance of  King Lear.  In   addition,  he   promises readersthat the   cockfight will  offer  an   "immediate,  inside-view grasp" of  Balinese mentality.   It is  a   "dramati-zation   of    status   concerns"   in   which cocks   are   a

Ifind it more  difficult to  explain — or  shouldI   say   interpret — the   considerable   influencethat Geertz has   exercised over  the   last thirty

years  or  so on  academic historians,   or  at

 leaston   a   substantial  and   articulate   minority   of that large  and heterogeneous profession.

metaphor  for  men; "a  Balinese reading of  Balineseexperience, a  story they tell  themselves  about them-selves."  T he  micro-example   leads   the   author   andthe reader  on  to   a  series  of   generalizations,  culmi-nating in   the suggestion  that  a   culture  is  a  kind  of text   that  may  be   read  not  only   by   insiders  but  byoutsiders — anthropologists or   historians — as  well.

Thirty-five years  later  it has  become  quite   easy

to  criticize  Geertz 's  general statements.  We   tell  our students   to look for   the   differences between texts

and cultures   as   well   as   the   similarities;   to   ask whether  all  Balinese, women and men,  tell the   same

story; and  to  consider  the  difficulty of  moving fromvivid  scenes like  the cockfight to an  account of   cul-tural  change.  All the   same,   this  essay helped manycultural  historians, myself included,   to  understandrituals  and   the  dramatic aspect  of  other  events.   Italso encouraged us  to look for the   relation  betweenthese   events  and   the   culture   surrounding   them.   If "Deep  Play"  did  not   lead   to   a  series  of   studies  of the English cockfight, the Spanish  bullfight,  and  soon,   this   was  probably  the   result  of   our   awe  of   a

 brilliant  tour  d e   force.

By contrast, "Thick Description: Toward an Iterpretive  Theory of  Culture"   is,   I   believe,   read  

historians   primarily   as   an   elegant  statement  of   tmethod they were  already following. As  for the id

of   the   "theater   state,"   its   suggestion that powserved   pomp rather  than   pomp  serving power  h

 been  usefully provocative, but  it  is  not, I   think, geerally   accepted   by   historians   of,   say,  early  mode

France   or  Spain.   In   the   case  early modern Europe,  the   idea probably  most relevant to  the  uation   of    the   early   mode popes,   who combined   a   smarmy   with   a  good   deal  of   sptual power. Even some historiaof   Southeast Asia have expresstheir doubts about   the   conce

Other  ideas   launched  by  Geersuch   as   "common   sense  as a   c

tural   system"   or   "local   knowedge," have not yet been takenseriously by  historians as  they dserve to   be.   Whether   or not  

time will  come for  these particlar   ideas,  Geertz 's   influence  on   at   least  one or   t

generations   of   cultural   historians   seems   secuAmong the leaders of  the  cultural or   interpretatturn,   he   will   probably  be   remembered   as   the owith whom  historians had the closest  affinity.

Peter Burke is  emeritus professor  of   cultural historand a Life Fellow of   Emmanuel College,   Universi

of  Cambridge.   Polity Press published his What  IsCultural  History?  in  2004.