Geertz, Clifford James (1926-2006), was an American anthropologist known for developing interpretive anthropology. In this approach, also known as semantic anthropology, human culture is understood as a system of symbols, and the main goal of anthropologists is to understand the meaning of different symbol systems. Geertz’s views were influenced by the writings of the British anthropologist E. E. Evans-Pritchard and the German sociologist Max Weber (see Evans-Pritchard, Edward Evan ; Weber, Max ). Geertz has written many influential papers on anthropological theory and on the people and cultures of Morocco and Bali.
Geertz was born in San Francisco on Aug. 23, 1926. He graduated from Antioch College in Ohio in 1950. He received his Ph.D. degree in anthropology from Harvard University in 1956. From 1957 to 1970, he held posts at Harvard, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Chicago. In 1970, Geertz became a professor of social sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. His major books include Religion in Java (1960) and The Interpretation of Cultures (1973). He died on Oct. 30, 2006.
