Clifford Geertz, on stage: A trickster of philosophy for anthropology

Abstract

Clifford Geertz wandered through philosophy, enriched the intellect with literature and inflamed the foundations of a "new anthropology." In the attempt dramatized his writing, he directed to other ways of doing ethnography. In his proposals we experience expressions, actions and creative intentions. The following notes are inspired by "Confusing genres: the refiguration of social thought", an article from the 80's. Geertz says that social scientists have changed their course, have a dramatized social life with actors, scenes and performances. It sounds interesting to think of Geertz as the protagonist of a play, as an actor who simulates his own image. He recounts his intellectual life, he is said to be a trickster (a playful creator, a protagonist of the action) that wanders between anthropology and philosophy, to mean a way of life in which he plays with the public and the author of a script that in each act is represented. It seeks to exalt a literary dramatization that subsists in geertzian interpretations.