My Lunch with Duke Ellington and Clifford Geertz

I welcome myself back to this independent study after an honest 3 week hiatus. My apologies.

Geertz had a very captivating way of showcasing the examples given about ‘thick description vs thin description’. These concepts were explained as yin and yang, black and white. Winking vs twitching and as described by Geertz :

Thin Description : "rapidly contracting eyelids"

Thick Description : "practicing a burlesque of a friend faking a wink to deceive an

                     innocent into thinking a conspiracy is in motion"

The thin description gives the reader an idea of what is happening with no reference to the surrounding space or meanings. Thick description gives the idea and existing possibilities of meanings or situations. Thin description is like a photo, a still. While thick description is like a High-Definition 360º video with audio. Again, fire and ice. Text vs context.

If I was explaining these concepts to this generation :

Thin Description : Posting on Instagram before the video option

Thick Description : Sending Snapchat videos

After digesting these examples, the concepts of thick and thin description seemed to be self-explanatory.

As I write, Duke Ellington’s “Haupe” is playing in my earbuds. The thin description would be something along the lines of soft jazz with piano, bass, drums and saxophone. I wonder, what would the thick description sound like?