INTERPRETIVE THEORY: CLIFFORD GEERTZ

 

INTERPRETIVE THEORY

 

In anthropological literature Clifford Geertz was the leading figure in interpretive anthropology, he considered the concept of culture essentially, SEMOITIC one i.e. symbolic. Interpretive anthropology is referred as symbolic anthropology as well. It has two lines running parallel to each other headed by two different leaders inheriting ideas from different ideals. Symbolic anthropology is led by both Clifford Geertz and Victor Turner. Geertz was influenced by Max Weber and Turner was influenced by Durkheim.

The interpretive social science can be related to the work of Giovanni Batista Vico (1668-1744), Dilthey (1833-1911) and most of all of Weber (1864-1920). Interpretive school grew out of convergence of disciplines such as philosophy, phenomenology, hermeneutics, ethnomethodology and sociology.

Weber’s idea was that, man is an animal suspended in the webs of significance which was adopted by Geertz therefore only he was the one taking culture as webs and he propounded use of interpretive analysis instead of experimental science for examining such webs of significance.

How does Turner’s symbolic approach differ from Geertz’s interpretive approach? Although they belongs to symbolic school of anthropology, their understanding of symbols is different.

GEERTZ

Influenced by Max Weber

Unlike object in natural world humans are not simply product of pulls and pushes

Individual create their own world

Actor centric

IDEA OF SYMBOL

System of inherited conceptions by means of which men communicate, perpetuate and develop attitude and knowledge towards life. Symbols are Vehicles of Culture.

 

TURNER’S SYMBOLIC APPROACH

Influenced by Emile Durkheim and Max Gluckman

Social solidarity : Symbolic logic that connect people

Collective consciousness

IDEA OF SYMBOL

Instigate social action

Operators in social process

By their arrangement produce social transformation which tie people to the norms of the society

Helps in resolving the conflict and aid in changing status of the actors/people

CLIFFORD GEERTZ

Man is in need of symbolic sources of illumination to orient himself with respect to the system of meaning that is any particular culture.

Images of the spider that spins its web and is suspended in that web.

Analysis of culture should be interpretive in search of meaning.

Culture is expressed by the external symbols

Culture as a historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols.

Symbols are vehicles of cultures

Culture as a social phenomena and a shared system of intersubjective symbols and meanings.

THICK DESCRIPTION (Reading culture in a new way) Introduced by G. Ryle further developed by Clifford Geertz

A way of writing that includes not only describing and observation but also the context in which that behavior occurs.

The close analysis of or the close reading of  a  particular production or event so as to uncover meanings.

It also helps to discover, within the overall cultural system, the network of conventions, codes and modes of thinking with which a particular item is implicated.

It is unearthing the underlying meaningful structure of local events and local interactions.

Thick description goes beyond surface appearances to include the context, detail, emotion and webs of social relationships.  

Thick description specifies many details, conceptual structures and meanings.

The example most commonly used to explain thick description comes from Ryle. He argued that if someone Wink at us without a context we don’t know what it means. We can report on the Wink (thin description).

But if we provide a context we will know if the person is attracted to us or that she/he is trying to communicate secretly or that she/he has something in his/her eye. As the context changes the meaning of Wink changes.

Thick Description : Explains the context of practices and discourses in a society.

Thick description:       Observation

                                    Description

                                    Interpretation              of a situation

                                    Analysis

 

In Anthropology, Sociology, Religious studies, Human and Organizational studies thick description not only explains human behavior but its context as well.

THIN DESCRIPTION: is factual account without any description

Biographical (who)

Historical (what led to this)

Situational (context)

Relational (what’s happening)

Interactional (what are the meaning and relationship)

Deep Play notes on the Balinese Cock Fight (1972)

Employing the method of thick description

Deep Play Notes on the Balinese cock fight is one of the Clifford Geertz most influential articles which illustrates not only the meaning of a given cultural phenomena (Balinese cock fight)

Geertz interpretive approach see culture as a set of texts to be read by the anthropologists

Geertz shows how the Balinese cock fight serves as a cultural text which embodies at least a portion of what the real meaning of being a Balinese.

Despite being illegal cockfight is a wide spread and highly popular phenomena in Bali at least at the time Deep Play : Notes on the Balinese cockfight was written.

Geertz reports that the Balinese people deeply detest animals and more specifically expression of animal like behavior.

However they have a deep identification with their cocks.

Balinese man not only identify his ideal self with the cock but even his penis (masculinity) also.

At the same time what he fears, hates and ambivalence being what it is; fascinated by the  powers of darkness.

Although gambling is a major and central part of the Balinese cockfight.

Geertz argues that the most fundamental behind is not just money but prestige and status

 He distinguishes deep fights with high wages and shallow fights with low wages of both gambling and prestige

The result of cockfight is unpredictable.

The odds are more even and bets are more balanced.

Financial gain is not the centre of the event but rather everything which expressed in the concept of status.

Cockfight is a fight for status.

Bets only symbolizes the risk; but it is a momentary gain or loss.

According to Geertz –Cockfight is not between individuals but is rather a simulation of the social structure of kinship and social groups.

People never bet against a cock from their own reference group. Fighting always takes place between people and cocks from opposing social groups, family, clan, village etc. and is therefore the most overt manifestation of social rivalry and a way of addressing rivalries.

The Balinese cockfight as Geertz puts it a way of playing with fire without getting burned.

Social tensions are represented through the cockfight but after all it just a cockfight.

Geertz also notes that the higher status of the participants in the cockfight, the deeper the cockfight is.

SUMMARY

Women and young and socially disadvantaged people are not allowed to attend cockfight.

The main players are the most respected and politically involved members of the community.

The actual cockfight is a human competition delegated to animals where the winner gets respect and admiration from others, money is the secondary thing.

Cock symbolizes masculinity and the rules of cockfight in every village are passed down through generations along with other legal traditions.

According to Geertz cockfight is a cultural phenomena. For local population cockfighting is also an instrument of self-analysis and a way of presenting their culture to outsiders.


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