Geertz, Clifford. "Deep Play: Notes on a Balinese Cockfight"

(b. 1926; d. 2006).
Good site for introduction to Geertz from University of Chicago

Aw, heck...let's start with a brief excerpt from wikipedia (yes, I vetted it)

Culture, outlined by Geertz in his book The Interpretation of Cultures (1973), is "a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which people communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life" (1973:89). The function of culture is to impose meaning on the world and make it understandable. The role of anthropologists is to try (though complete success is not possible) to interpret the guiding symbols of each culture (see thick description). His oft-cited essay, "Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight," included in The Interpretation of Cultures, is the classic example of thick description at work. Geertz was quite innovative in this regard, as he was one of the first to see that the insights provided by common language philosophy and literary analysis could have major explanatory force in the social sciences.

I picked this essay for us to read because it will be instrumental in helping you develop a method for reading culture as you begin research for your own project. Rather than spending time laying out his arguments, since this is not an extremely difficult essay to read, I'll, instead, pose some points to consider, and to blog about:
1) How does Geertz read the Balinese cockfight in relation to Balinese culture?
2) Look at the descriptions of the locations and the audience of the cockfight. Why does Geertz include these details? Write a blog entry on this.
3) "For it is only apparently cocks that are fighting there. Actually, it is men". Examine this quote in relation to the structuring of Balinese society. What are the multiple ways in which "cock" operates in the social sphere?
4) In what ways did the culture of cockfighting change with the invasion of the Dutch in 1908?
5) On p. 7, Geertz discusses Jeremy Bentham's concept of "deep play". How does this concept inform the essay (esp. considering that the title borrows Bentham's words).
6) Find a point to critique in the essay.