Culture and the Individual: Theory and Method of Cultural Consonance

ISBN-13: 9781629585185 / Angielski / Twarda / 2017 / 198 str.

William W. Dressler

Opis

How culture is incorporated into individuals' lives is a problem that has plagued the social sciences for centuries. This book examines the insights offered by approaching the question using a cognitive theory of culture. Culture and the Individual pulls together more than twenty-five years of research on cultural consonance, defined as the degree to which individuals incorporate into their own beliefs and behaviors the prototypes for belief and behavior encoded in shared cultural models. Starting with a critical overview of the treatment of culture and the individual in anthropology, Dressler goes on to make the case for adopting a cognitive theory of culture in researching the relationship, introducing the concept of cultural consonance as a solution. Placing the concept in its theoretical context, he examines both how cultural consonance can be measured and what it can reveal, focusing in particular on the field of health. Written in an accessible style by an experienced medical anthropologist who has spent his career researching and teaching on the subject of cultural consonance, Culture and the Individual offers an essential overview of the topic for students of all levels, as well as academics in neighboring fields.

Spis treści

Preface
1. Introduction
2. Culture and the Individual in Anthropological Theory
3. Solutions to Five Recurring Problems in Culture Theory
4. Cultural Models and  Cultural Consensus
5. Cultural Consonance
6. Measuring Cultural Consonance
7. The Relationships of Cultural Consonance and Health Outcomes
8. Conclusions

O autorze

William W. Dressler is Professor of Anthropology at The University of Alabama, USA. A former president of the Society for Medical Anthropology, he received the Burnum Distinguished Faculty Award from Alabama in 2002. His work focuses on the intersection of culture, the individual, and health, and his research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.