Redefining Culture Perspectives Across the Disciplines

This volume provides a formal discussion of culture as well as offering a wide variety of culture definitions. It will interest scholars and students of interpretations of culture.

Redefining Culture: Perspectives Across the Disciplines argues that culture is one of the most important factors we need to know when we interact as well as in our discussions of social problems and their solutions.This book picks up the dialogue where Kroeber and Kluckhohn left off in their classic 1952 collection and analysis of definitions of culture. As a resource for personal and academic libraries, this volume provides an updated listing of over 300 definitions of culture from a wide array of disciplines. Chapters examine how the definition of culture has changed historically, consider themes that cut across the definitions, and provide models for organizing approaches to defining culture. To round out this multi-disciplinary perspective, Renato Rosaldo provides a foreword, and prominent authors from six disciplines write about how they conceptualize culture and use it in their research and practice. This resource is an indispensable reference for scholars studying or integrating culture into their work. It will appeal to anyone interested in culture, particularly students and scholars in anthropology, intercultural and international communication, cultural studies, cultural and social psychology, linguistics, sociology, family studies, political science, intergroup relations, cultural geography, and multicultural education.

Contents:R.I. Rosaldo, Foreword: Defining Culture. Preface.Part I: (Re)Considering Contemporary Definitions of Culture. J.R. Baldwin, S.L. Faulkner, M.L. Hecht, A Moving Target: The Illusive Definition of Culture. S.L. Faulkner, J.R. Baldwin, S.L. Lindsley, M.L. Hecht, Layers of Meaning: An Analysis of Definitions of Culture. M.L. Hecht, J.R. Baldwin, S.L. Faulkner, The (In)Conclusion of the Matter: Shifting Signsand Models of Culture. Part II: Views of Culture From Across the Disciplines. M. Bérubé, The "Cultures" of Cultural Studies. R.W. Brislin, Culture and Behavior: An Approach Taken in Psychology and International Business. J. Fortman, H. Giles, Communicating Culture. S.B. García, P.L. Guerra, Conceptualizing Culture in Education: Implications for Schooling in a Culturally Diverse Society. N.G. Canclini, Narratives on Culture: From Socio-semiotics to Globalization. R. Inglehart, Political Culture. Part III: Definitions of Culture Selected From Across Disciplines. Definitions of Culture. Definitions References. Definitions Index by Category.