Clifford Geertz
Clifford Geertz
Clifford James Geertzwas an American anthropologist who is remembered mostly for his strong support for and influence on the practice of symbolic anthropology, and who was considered "for three decades...the single most influential cultural anthropologist in the United States." He served until his death as professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth23 August 1926
CountryUnited States of America
Clifford Geertz quotes about
people soul literature
I was trained in the '50s as a New Critic. I remember what literature was like before the New Critics, when people stood up and talked about Shelley's soul and such things
atmosphere alive fields
I don't feel that an atmosphere of debate and total disagreement and argument is such a bad thing. It makes for a vital and alive field.
writing research literature
I've often been accused of making anthropology into literature, but anthropology is also field research. Writing is central to it.
destroying scholar employed
A scholar can hardly be better employed than in destroying a fear.
book mean writing
I'm writing a review of three books on feminism and science, and it's about social constructionism. So I would say I'm a social constructionist, whatever that means
people asking different
People keep asking how anthropology is different from sociology, and everybody gets nervous.
real anxiety matter
Anthropology never has had a distinct subject matter, and because it doesn't have a real method, there's a great deal of anxiety over what it is
thinking neurology uncertain
I think what's known about neurology is still scattered and uncertain
oddities people may
It may be in the cultural particularities of people — in their oddities — that some of the most instructive revelations of what it is to be generically human are to be found.
thinking trying foxes
I'm an inveterate fox and not a hedgehog, so I always think you should try everything
writing want information
If I remember correctly, a writer is someone who wants to convey information. Language or writing is a code
paragraph satisfied sentences
I never leave a sentence or a paragraph until I'm satisfied with it
thinking people consciousness
I do think the attempt to raise consciousness has succeeded. People are very aware of gender concerns now
book moon views
I've written a lot of books which are written from the moon - the view from nowhere.