Beyond Political Culture

• Published in: Anthropology and Political Science Vol. 3; p. 60
• Main Authors: Aronoff, Myron J, Kubik, Jan
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United States Berghahn Books 15.11.2012; Berghahn Books, Incorporated
• Edition: 1
• Subjects: Anthropology; Applied anthropology; Behavioral sciences; Communications; Cultural anthropology; Cultural customs; Cultural semiotics; Folkloristics; Government; Hegemony; Mythology; Myths; Political anthropology; Political attitudes; Political communication; Political rhetoric; Political science; Political science & theory; Political sociology; Political systems; Practical theology; Religion; Religious practices; Religious rituals; Rituals; Semiotics; Social & cultural anthropology; Social sciences; Theology; Traditions
• ISBN: 085745725X; 9780857457257

Culture is a dimension of all social interactions, since as humans we always traffic in meaning. Thus it should not be understood as a separate domain of human activity, contrasted for example with politics or economy (Norton 2004; Sewell 1999: 39). Social interactions, the basic units of society, have a strategic dimension and hence can be usefully modeled as political or economic games. But they also have a communicative dimension and thus can be studied as semiotic events or processes. Events are studied semiotically when the researcher focuses on actors’ actions as they generate, communicate, or interpret meaning. Political scientists