for sochien

1. Why is the relationship between Geertz and Weber, assuming that they have one?What does “semiotic” mean? What could Geertz have in mind when he says that culture is “semiotic”? How does Geertz's notion of culture differ from that given above?

2. Who was John Ryle and why is he remembered? What is the point of Geertz’s long example, adapted from the work of Gilbert Ryle, where he discusses “twitches, winks, fake-winks, parodies, [and] rehearsals of parodies” (pp. 6-7)?  How would Ryle's description of a wink differ from that of Geertz? How might these twitches, winks, and so on be analyzed if we understand the study of culture as an “experimental science”? How does our analysis change if we believe that the study of culture is “interpretive”?

3. Read the passage from Geertz’s field journal (pp. 7-9) again slowly, paying attention to detail. Describe what happens in in three or four sentences. What might Geertz mean at the end of the passage when he notes “how extraordinarily ‘thick’” even such an “elemental” ethnographic description must be? What are the implications of this “thickness” for the study of communication?