Symbolic and interpretive anthropology are two approaches in the field of anthropology that emphasize understanding cultural practices through symbols and meanings, rather than focusing solely on material aspects or biological determinism.
- Symbolic Anthropology: This approach, influenced by thinkers like Clifford Geertz and Victor Turner, focuses on the idea that culture is made up of symbols that carry meaning within a particular context. These symbols can include things like rituals, language, clothing, art, and myths, which are all used to communicate deeper meanings about society, identity, values, and relationships. The idea is that people use these symbols to express and navigate their world, and that understanding these symbols is key to understanding the culture as a whole.
- Interpretive Anthropology: This approach is closely related to symbolic anthropology and is largely associated with Clifford Geertz. Interpretive anthropology emphasizes the role of interpretation in understanding cultural practices. Instead of simply collecting data or making observations, anthropologists in this tradition seek to understand the “webs of significance” that people create and navigate in their everyday lives. Geertz’s famous essay “Thick Description” is a cornerstone of this approach, where he argues that ethnographic research should go beyond surface observations and aim to explain the deeper meanings and contexts of cultural practices.
Both approaches are reactionary to earlier, more structuralist or functionalist anthropologies that focused on culture as a system of functions or structures, often neglecting the individual and the meanings they ascribe to their actions and symbols. Symbolic and interpretive anthropology, therefore, prioritizes understanding the subjective and interpretive aspects of human life.