72 pages 2 hours read

Clifford Geertz

The Interpretation of Cultures

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1973

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Essay Topics

1.

Why is thick description integral to Geertz’s conception of culture and the interpretive aim of anthropology?

2.

How does cultural evolutionism give way to cultural relativism? Why does Geertz find both inadequate? What alternative does Geertz suggest?

3.

Why is the specificity of culture systems necessary to draw general theories about human society? Using examples from the text, explain how Geertz demonstrates theory construction from concrete, specific, empirical analyses of cultural patterns.