Clifford Geertz

Anthropology American 1926 – 2006 79 quotes

A leading proponent of interpretive anthropology, emphasizing the importance of understanding culture as a system of symbols and meanings.

Quotes by Clifford Geertz

Life is a text to be read.

Local Knowledge 1983

Anthropologists are storytellers of sorts.

Works and Lives 1988

The study of culture is the study of symbols.

The Interpretation of Cultures 1973

Interpretation is the road to understanding.

Thick Description 1973

Culture binds society together.

The Religion of Java 1960

In the end, anthropology is about humanity.

Available Light 2000

Symbols are the vehicles of culture.

Religion as a Cultural System 1966

Thick description is what ethnography aims for.

Thick Description 1973

Man creates his own meaning.

The Interpretation of Cultures 1973

Anthropology reveals the diversity of human experience.

Local Knowledge 1983

Culture is learned, not inherited.

The Interpretation of Cultures 1973

The interpretive turn in anthropology.

The Interpretation of Cultures 1973

Everyday life is ritual.

The Religion of Java 1960

Understanding requires empathy.

Available Light 2000

Anthropology is a humanistic science.

Anti Anti-Relativism 1984

The blur of meaning is anthropology's challenge.

Thick Description 1973

Culture is the art of living together.

Local Knowledge 1983

In anthropology, the observer is part of the observed.

Works and Lives 1988

Meaning emerges from context.

The Interpretation of Cultures 1973