Clifford Geertz and the Concept of Culture

Abstract

Clifford Geertz has observed that “anthropology is a science whose progress is marked less by a perfection of consensus than by a refinement of debate. What gets better is the precision with which we vex each other.” Geertz's observation on anthropology seems equally applicable to other disciplines interested in the study of culture, including history and American Studies. With this in mind, this essay is intended to contribute not to some “perfection of consensus” but, rather, to a “refinement of debate” by sharpening the ability of those in culture studies to vex each other more precisely. My focus of attention, as well as my major point of departure, is Clifford Geertz's Interpretation of Cultures, a book that is widely cited and that has had significant cross-disciplinary appeal.