The Concept of Culture A History and Reappraisal
While the term ‘culture’ has come to be very widely used in both popular and academic discourse, it has a variety of meanings, and the differences among these have not been given sufficient attention. This book explores these meanings, and ident
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Martyn Hammersley
The Concept of Culture
Martyn Hammersley
The Concept of Culture A History and Reappraisal
Martyn Hammersley Open University Milton Keynes, UK
ISBN 978-3-030-22981-8 ISBN 978-3-030-22982-5 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22982-5 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: Pattern © Melisa Hasan This Palgrave Pivot imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
It is never a waste of time to study the history of a word. [Lucien Febvre (1930), discussing the term ‘civilization’.]
Acknowledgements
My thanks go to Anna Traianou for inviting me to talk to her students at Goldsmiths about the concept of culture, thereby prompting me to think more carefully about the topic: this book is the result. I am also grateful to my colleagues Heather Montgomery and Roger Gomm, along with an anonymous referee, for their comments on earlier drafts—the final product has benefitted greatly from their help.
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Contents
1 Introduction 1 2 Two Singular Conceptions of Culture: The Aesthetic and the Developmental 11 3 ‘Culture’ in Sociology and Cultural Studies 27 4 Problems with the Concept of Culture and a Suggested Reformulation 59 5 Epilogue 91 References99 Index117
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CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Abstract The word ‘culture’ is widely used in the social sciences. However, the intended meaning is often far from clear. In this introductory chapter, the history of the term is briefly sketched, and an outline provided of how it has been used in social science. There has been variation in whether ‘culture’ is treated as singular or plural. Two versions
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