[Air-l] Clifford Geertz 1926-2006

[Florence Chee]

I am sure that many on this list have been influenced by Clifford Geertz and
would wish to know about the passing of this amazing scholar. He will be
missed by many, I am certain.

>From the Institute for Advanced Study:
http://www.ias.edu/Newsroom/announcements/Uploads/view.php?cmd=view&id=354

PRINCETON, N.J., October 31, 2006 -- Clifford Geertz, an eminent scholar in
the field of cultural anthropology known for his extensive research in
Indonesia and Morocco, died at the age of 80 early yesterday morning of
complications following heart surgery at the Hospital of the University of
Pennsylvania. Dr. Geertz was Professor Emeritus in the School of Social
Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, where he has served on the
Faculty since 1970. Dr. Geertz's appointment thirty-six years ago was
significant not only for the distinguished leadership it would bring to the
Institute, but also because it marked the initiation of the School of Social
Science, which in 1973 formally became the fourth School at the Institute.

Dr. Geertz's landmark contributions to social and cultural theory have been
influential not only among anthropologists, but also among geographers,
ecologists, political scientists, humanists, and historians. He worked on
religion, especially Islam; on bazaar trade; on economic development; on
traditional political structures; and on village and family life. A prolific
author since the 1950s, Dr. Geertz's many books include *The Religion of
Java* (1960); *Islam Observed: Religious Development in Morocco and
Indonesia* (1968); *The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays* (1973,
2000); *Negara: The Theatre State in Nineteenth Century Bali* (1980); and *The
Politics of Culture, Asian Identities in a Splintered World *(2002). At the
time of his death, Dr. Geertz was working on the general question of ethnic
diversity and its implications in the modern world.

Peter Goddard, Director of the Institute, said, "Clifford Geertz was one of
the major intellectual figures of the twentieth century whose presence at
the Institute played a crucial role in its development and in determining
its present shape. He remained a vital force, contributing to the life of
the Institute right up to his death. We have all lost a much loved friend."

Dr. Geertz's deeply reflective and eloquent writings often provided profound
and cogent insights on the scope of culture, the nature of anthropology and
on the understanding of the social sciences in general. Noting that human
beings are "symbolizing, conceptualizing, meaning-seeking animals," Geertz
acknowledged and explored the innate desire of humanity to "make sense out
of experience, to give it form and order." In *Works and Lives: The
Anthropologist as Author* (1988), Geertz stated, "The next necessary
thing...is neither the construction of a universal Esperanto-like
culture...nor the invention of some vast technology of human management. It
is to enlarge the possibility of intelligible discourse between people quite
different from one another in interest, outlook, wealth, and power, and yet
contained in a world where tumbled as they are into endless connection, it
is increasingly difficult to get out of each other's way."
Dr. Geertz is survived by his wife, Dr. Karen Blu, an anthropologist retired
from the Department of Anthropology at New York University; his children,
Erika Reading of Princeton, NJ, and Benjamin Geertz of Kirkland, WA; and his
grandchildren, Andrea and Elena Martinez of Princeton, NJ. He is also
survived by his former wife, Dr. Hildred Geertz, Professor Emeritus in the
Department of Anthropology at Princeton University.

A Memorial will be held at the Institute for Advanced Study. Details will be
announced at a future date.
-- 
Florence Chee

PhD Candidate
School of Communication, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada
Bloggings and bio @ Constructing Amusement: http://florencechee.blogspot.com