Clifford Geertz

About the author

Clifford Geertz (1926–2006) was an American anthropologist widely regarded as the dominant figure in cultural anthropology in the United States for three decades. Born in San Francisco, he became the foremost champion of symbolic anthropology, shaping how scholars interpret culture as a system of meaning. He served as professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton until his death in Philadelphia in 2006.

His influence on the discipline remains foundational, making him one of the most consequential social thinkers of the twentieth century.