Clifford Geertz - Interpretive Anthropology
Social Anthropology Essay.
How would you summarize Clifford Geertz’s contribution to the field of anthropology?
Clifford Geertz
I have chosen this essay on Geertz, as the information I received in class I found interesting and wanted to elaborate on the knowledge I already had. In this essay, I will be discussing Geertz’s contributions to anthropology, and what I have interpreted these contributions as myself. When looking at Geertz’s ideas and theories in Anthropology, some of these ideas and theories will include his theories on the web of relations and symbolism. Geertz also took the idea of theory and came up with new ideas to develop it further. What Geertz was trying to do by looking at symbolism was trying to break down the complexity of meanings within cultures. Clifford Geertz was a man who believed that Anthropology should not be recognised as a factual science but as an interpretive science. He did not believe that there was such thing as social facts, so therefore we will see that Anthropology he understood as a way of interpreting people, by looking at things such as symbolism. He wanted to really understand what culture was all about and what it really meant, and when he had discovered this meaning he wanted to share it with the rest of the world. When looking at Geertz and his work, it cannot be done without discussing his idea of ‘thick description’. We will see how he studies ‘thick description’ as the underlying system of meanings of individuals and the local meanings of the person. It was also important to take into account when researching this essay the important comparisons between Geertz and other anthropologists, such as Emile Durkheim and Gilbert Ryle. One of the final things that Geertz contributes to Anthropology is his idea of ethnographic research methods. In this essay I will discuss Geertz’s ideas and beliefs which have contributed greatly to the study of Social Anthropology, and I hope to analyse his beliefs to the level which a
How would you summarize Clifford Geertz’s contribution to the field of anthropology?
Clifford Geertz
I have chosen this essay on Geertz, as the information I received in class I found interesting and wanted to elaborate on the knowledge I already had. In this essay, I will be discussing Geertz’s contributions to anthropology, and what I have interpreted these contributions as myself. When looking at Geertz’s ideas and theories in Anthropology, some of these ideas and theories will include his theories on the web of relations and symbolism. Geertz also took the idea of theory and came up with new ideas to develop it further. What Geertz was trying to do by looking at symbolism was trying to break down the complexity of meanings within cultures. Clifford Geertz was a man who believed that Anthropology should not be recognised as a factual science but as an interpretive science. He did not believe that there was such thing as social facts, so therefore we will see that Anthropology he understood as a way of interpreting people, by looking at things such as symbolism. He wanted to really understand what culture was all about and what it really meant, and when he had discovered this meaning he wanted to share it with the rest of the world. When looking at Geertz and his work, it cannot be done without discussing his idea of ‘thick description’. We will see how he studies ‘thick description’ as the underlying system of meanings of individuals and the local meanings of the person. It was also important to take into account when researching this essay the important comparisons between Geertz and other anthropologists, such as Emile Durkheim and Gilbert Ryle. One of the final things that Geertz contributes to Anthropology is his idea of ethnographic research methods. In this essay I will discuss Geertz’s ideas and beliefs which have contributed greatly to the study of Social Anthropology, and I hope to analyse his beliefs to the level which a
Bibliography: o Geertz, C, The Interpretation of Cultures 1973(“Thick Description: Towards an Interpretive Theory of Culture”). - Geertz, Clifford: Available Light. Anthropological Reflections on Philosophical Topics (2000). o http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/01/obituaries/01geertz. o (http://academic.csuohio.edu/as227/spring2003/geertz.htm). www.jstor.org