Cliord

Geertz
Interpre0ve Theory of Culture
&
Notes on Balinese Cockgh0ng

Be Cri0cal
New theories in any scien0c discipline might
explode with popularity and may suer from
key-to-the-universe regard. Theories must
be cri0cally approached to avoid this. Cultural
anthropology is no excep0on.

Anthropology
Geertz agrees with Weber, culture is like a
web spun by humans.
Anthropology is not experiment in search of
law, but rather interpreta0on in search of
meaning.
Understand through what one does; an
anthropologist does ethnography.

Ethnography
Ethnography is a venture in thick
descrip0on.
Thinking and Reec0ng.
Thinking of thought.
The eld is culture; the ethnography is
anthropology.

Winking

Example: The Wink

It is not enough to know how to wink.
What meaning or lack of meaning is there?
Who understands the gesture?
What is the context?

Avoid Mimicry
Geertz is cri0cal of certain cogni0ve
anthropological views which seek to create an
ethnographic algorithm which if followed,
could pass one as na0ve.
To mimic is strictly for roman0cs and spies.

Context
Culture is context.
Without context, interpreta0on is useless.
Example: The Berber, the Jewish merchant,
and the French Legionnaire.
It is not enough to simply say it was Morocco at a
specic date.

Cultural Analysis
Cultural Analysis:
Guess meaning
Assess the guesses
Reach explanatory conclusions from best guesses

Characteris0cs of Ethnographic
Descrip0on
1. Interpre0ve
2. Interprets ow of social discourse
3. Seeks to capture discourse it seeks to
interpret and place it into terms that may be
explored. (Requires context)
4. All ethnographic research is microscopic; it
is impossible to interpret the whole society/
culture/event.

Note
Ethnographic research is not a laboratory
science, one cannot isolate or manipulate
variables therefore, do not view it as a
purely quan0able lab science.
This is not to say Geertz devalues anthropology as
a scien0c discipline.

On Theory
Theory is essen0al to give us the capacity to
evaluate ethnographic research, it is what
makes anthropology a science.
Anthropological theories may be more dicult
to develop than natural sciences.
The point of theory in ethnographic research
is to esh-out the vocabulary needed to
express meanings.

 The Objec0ve:
To draw large conclusions from small, yet thick
and layered facts; to support broad arguments
regarding cultures part in the construc0on of
society through careful and cri0cal complex
par0culars in a precise manner.

 As interpreta0on is applied to the direct

observa0onal level, so should theory be
applied thus forming the framework of ones
interpreta0on.

 Cultural interpreta0on is not about reaching

an end conclusion, it only takes one farther on
an innite path.
The goal is not to discover universal laws or truths
like physics or mathema0cs.

Cockgh0ng Review
Though ins0tu0onally banned, cockgh0ng
remained popular in Bali.
Ties to masculinity.
Ties to Kinship.
Juxtaposed with taboos on rela0on to
animals.
Thick descrip0on/context (loads of footnotes).
Rapport through evading the authori0es.