Clifford Geertz's The Interpretation Of Culture
“Doing ethnography is like trying to read (in the sense of "construct a reading of') a manuscript foreign, faded, full of ellipses, incoherencies, suspicious emendations, and tendentious commentaries, but written not in conventionalized graphs of sound but in transient examples of shaped behaviour.” - Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures (1973) Introduction At the end of the fifty years of his career, though Clifford Geertz remains a highly influential Cultural Anthropologist, especially in the United States, he has found his fair share of critics as well. While his contributions to the field are undeniable, they were however “(sic.) Fundamentally unfortunate in the social sciences. He was a major contributor to the wilfully fuzzy logic which continues to plague the social sciences” (Tiger, 2006). …show more content…
He believed that understanding a culture is based on the act of interpretation, that is, it is only by placing any given cultural act—a ritual, a game, a political campaign, and so on—into the specific and local contexts in which the act is meaningful, can it truly be understood. This take on culture was the catalyst for debates in American anthropology that turned on key issues such as, what is the nature of culture? how is it understood? what is the relationship between observer and observed?,
On The Run By Alice Goffman Sparknotes
576 Words | 3 PagesThe underlying principle of The Interpretation of Cultures is that anthropology is a descriptive science
Summary Of Beyond The Culture Wars By Gerald Graff
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Analysis Of Locking Up Our Own By James Forman
1412 Words | 6 PagesEthnographies present the accumulation of an anthropologist’s research with a basis from real data from real people. Methodologies become core concepts to how the research is conducted, whether via long term observational field work, interviews with the anthropologist’s informants, or most often, a blend of such techniques. However, the positionality of the researcher greatly influences ethnography, as it allows a variety of ways for how the research can be conducted, as well how it may be presented. To demonstrate how positionality effects ethnography, I will examine James Forman’s Locking Up Our Own, Lawrence Ralph’s Renegade Dreams and Michael Taussig’s Law in a Lawless Land.
Shane The Lone Ethnography Summary
819 Words | 4 PagesShane the Lone Ethnographer is an introduction guide to ethnography for beginners. This book is displayed in an innovative way of cartoons very similar to a comic style book. The main character Shane, demonstrates how ethnographers work through the process of completing an ethnography. The author used a cartoon like format to provide a new and interesting approach to understanding the art of ethnography. This book walks you through how Shane embarks on her very first research project and we also get to see the theories, methods, and skills used by ethnographic researchers.
Boyz N The Hood By John Singleton
1364 Words | 6 PagesThe first sub-topic that was stated in the book is "We Learn Culture in the Process of Communicating. " This idea means that culture isn't something we're born with, but rather something
Body Ritual Among The Nacirema Analysis
890 Words | 4 PagesHas there even been a moment in your life where you could figure out In the article Body Ritual Among the Nacirema, by Horace Miner, American culture is satirized due to the way some practices and beliefs are so deeply indoctrinated into us that the American people fail to recognize how strange all of them really are. In “1848: When America Came of Age,” by Kurt Andersen, American society from the 19th century, most specifically the year 1848, is described by a series of movements and the emergence of the many beliefs that dominate American culture. In American culture, faith without question and with the expectation that progress will come because of it is demonstrated in all aspects of life. Practices so common and mainstream are never questioned
An Indian Father's Plea '
628 Words | 3 PagesEvery day we use our culture. Whether it be to argue claims, express opinions, or make decisions, culture plays a part in each area. Culture is who we are, one’s identity, its extent is enormous over our views and actions. A person grows up surrounded with culture at a young age. This can affect how they learn and what they learn.
'An Indian Father's Plea' By Robert Lake
1355 Words | 6 PagesWithout the knowledge of what culture is and does, we as a society would be lost. In the essay, “An Indian Father’s Plea” by Robert Lake, the author takes to explain to his audience that your culture can greatly impact your perspective of others. For example, when the teacher Wind-Wolf a slow learner, the father writes a letter explaining why wind-wolf is not, but in fact the opposite. The author said “If you ask him how many months there are in a year he will probably tell you 13. He will respond this way not because he does not know how to count, but because he was taught by our traditional people.”
Percival Everett's The Appropriation Of Cultures
615 Words | 3 PagesPercival Everett’s short story entitled, “The Appropriation of Cultures” explores themes of irony and absurdity. The irony lies within each and every page. The story begins with Daniel, who is a young and successful black man with a degree from Brown University. He is also a musician and frequently played old tunes with a group of musicians. The story then shifts as white frat boys make suggestions of what the musicians should play, “One night, some white boys from a fraternity yellow forward to the stage at the black man holding the acoustic guitar and began to shout, ‘Play ‘Dixie’ for us!
Summary Of Barbara Ehrenreich's Cultural Baggage
416 Words | 2 Pages“Cultural Baggage” by Barbara Ehrenreich explains the author’s views on traditional values that come from family ancestry. Ehrenreich’s motivation to write about this subject came from the way she was raised and challenged. She grew up finding new things to try and not to succumb to the mindset of accepting something because it’s always been that way. Ehrenreich’s father said in the essay, ‘“think for yourself’ and ‘always ask why’” (Ehrenreich, 04 Apr. 1992).
What Is Leroy Little Bear And Johnson's Response To The Indigenous World View
585 Words | 3 PagesLeroy Little Bear and Johnson would have similar responses to the harmful impacts of alcohol consumption if they were to sit down and have a discussion. The idea of how (1) knowledge is passed through story telling and (2) the impact of a jagged world view are the main concepts that both authors share. Knowledge is constantly changing and so our epistemological and ontological views change as well. Stories are very important to Indigenous culture it is the primary method of learning. Colonialism has left Indigenous people with a jagged worldview, which is why many of our Indigenous peoples find themselves involved with alcohol.
Body Ritual Of The Nacirema By Horace Miner
582 Words | 3 PagesWhen first reading this analysis, it is not easy to recognize that Miner is talking about American’s culture. Miner argues several common actions and behaviors of Nacirema’s further in his analysis. Miner uses descriptions and words for certain things that happen in our everyday lives that we normally do not hear. By doing so, Miner allows the readers to understand what he is saying in a different perspective. First looking at the Nacirema
Sigmund Freud's Theory Of Psycho-Cultural Analysis
782 Words | 4 PagesAnthropology studies primitive societies through ethnography in order to determine how humans develop through societal functioning and the culture they are brought up in. Freud gave several insights on psycho cultural analysis, one was that individuals daily lives are influenced by the drives of the unconscious. Psychoanalysis is unique in its ”preoccupation... with the purposes and symbolic content of thought”(LaBarre, 1968a,p.85). Freud’s psychoanalytic approach in Anthropology has been highly criticised due to many questions about personality and culture. One question was whether psychoanalytic theories of the unconscious highlight characteristics, beliefs and behaviours in non-Western populations.
Garrett Hardin Lifeboat Ethics
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The Arab World Edward T. Hall Summary
1443 Words | 6 PagesEdward T. Hall was more than just a writer; he was an American anthropologist, and had researched and written on cross-cultural issues for many years. Hall received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1942 and taught in many American colleges such as the University of Denver and Harvard Business School. Hall also worked in many areas and field work throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Edward T. Hall had many other books such as “The Silent Language”, “The Hidden Dimension”, “Beyond Culture”, and “Understanding Cultural Differences-Germans, French and Americans”. Having so much experience and knowledge in this field gave Hall the authority and credibility to write about such a topic.
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