JEFFREY C. ALEXANDER Professor of Sociology at Yale University, USA.   PHILIP SMITH Associate Professor of Sociology at Yale University, USA.   MATTHEW NORTON PhD Candidate at Yale University, USA.

"Interpreting Clifford Geertz is a rich, many-sided, and illuminating collection of essays. This volume views Geertz's work from different countries and disciplines and explores its ambiguities and inconsistencies, while also emphasizing that much remains to be learned from it." - Peter Burke, Emmanuel College, the University of Cambridge "The oeuvre of Clifford Geertz is like a rare gem, demanding examination of its endless facets to appreciate its profundity and radiating influence. Congratulations to the editors for doing just that - bringing together the best and most diverse set of minds to assess this monumental figure in twentieth-century intellectual life. The result is an exceptional book, doing full justice to Geertz and furthering his labors." - Neil J. Smelser, University Professor of Sociology Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley "This is the definitive statement on Geertz.I cannot imagine a more consistently interesting and insightful collection of reflections about Geertz's corpus, and its position in the meaning-centered social sciences. It will be required reading among cultural sociologists for many years to come." - Ronald N. Jacobs, University at Albany, author of The Space of Opinion

• The Rise and Fall and Rise of Clifford Geertz; J.Alexander & P.Smith PART I: GEERTZ, TEXT AND STRUCTURE Semiotics AND Thick Description; P.Brooks Balinese Cockfight Decoded; P.Smith On Not Doing Systems; J.Errington PART II: GEERTZ, INTERPRETATION AND MEANING Geertzian Irony; G.Warnke Clifford Geertz and the Strong Program; J.Alexander Maximal Interpretation in Clifford Geertz and the Strong Program; I.Reed Thick Description as a Cosmopolitan Practice; P.Lichterman 'Malarial and Diffident'; R.Wagner-Pacifici PART III: GEERTZ AND THE DISCIPLINES Thick Description, Thin History; S.Clark Scientific Cultures; P.Galison Geertz's Legacy Beyond the Modes of Cultural Analysis of His Time; G.Marcus 'To locate in the tenor of their setting the sources of their spell'; M.Trondman Ritual, Power, and Style; B.Giesen PART IV: GEERTZ, LIFE, AND WORK Clifford Geertz as a Cultural System; D.Apter On Clifford Geertz; R.Darnton The Geertz Effect; M.Norton