Clifford Geertz

Clifford Geertz

1926-2006

American Anthropologist

Aim of most of his work is to provide an understanding

and acknowledgement of “thick description” that exists

within cultures; understanding other peoples

understandings of things.

Major Themes/Concepts

Ethnography

Culture is public

Thick description

Thin description

semiotics

Early Influences

Geertz was influenced by Wittgenstien, Weber, Ryle and

Kluckhohn

Social Anthropology

Anthropologists participate in ethnography, and it can

contain “establishing a rapport, selecting informants” and

keeping a diary.

Ethnographer is faced with “multiplicity of complex

conceptual structures” and they have to try and untangle

them and grasp the ideas and culture

Interpretive and observational

Once behavior is seen, the action becomes a symbol

“he observes, he records, he analyzes”

Ethnographic description

Geertz states that there are 3 characteristics of

ethnographic description, and he adds a 4th characteristic

which he uses

Interpretive study

the flow of social discourse

Interpreting involves trying to rescue what is “said” and fix it

in pursuable terms

Microscopic

Thin Description

Thin description is only about behavior and is without

interpretation.

A wink is merely the contraction of an eye lid

Thick description

Thick description is the behavior with the interpretation

semiotic term

pre ascribed cultural meaning

Public act

Various signs and symbols

Thick description

Crossing your fingers can mean a symbol for good luck, or

it can represent that the person isn't telling the truth

Culture

Cognitive Anthropology sees that culture is made of

“psychological structures by means of which individuals or

groups guide their behavior”

Culture is public because the meaning behind the actions

is public

Culture is a context, where the behaviors that occur can

be described thickly

The Debate About Culture

The debate on whether culture is subjective or objective

he believes is misconceived

Culture includes “the writing of systematic rules, an

ethnographic algorithm” which would cause those who

participate to pass as natives.

“finding our feet” is what ethnographers perform in their

research through personal experience by trying to “form

the basis on which one imagines”

Semiotics

Geertz supported a semiotic approach that would aim to

connect and gain access into other forms of cultures

He ultimately wanted to try and make thick description

possible

The Web Of Culture

Geertz argued that in order to interpret culture’s symbols,

we need to

1. isolate its elements

2. find the relationships between those elements

3. characterize the whole system in a general way

- When studying a case using a semiotic concept of culture and

an interpretive approach it is necessary to take on a view of

“ethnographic assertation as ‘essentially contestable’”.

Semiotics

There is a degree of variability existing within the context

exisiting

After discovering how these signs and symbols

communicate, this awareness opens the door to

understanding different cultures and “exposes their

normalness without reducing their particularity”.

And Now To Test Your

Knowledge….

Quiz Time!

Doing a thumbs up in Canada is a sign for a good job,

however, what do you think it means in The Middle East?

Doing the “long horn ” sign in North America is a symbol for

the Texas Football Team. This sign is wildly acted on by

Presidents and Celebrities. However, what do you think this

means?

Thanks For Listening!