In this commentary, Heather Paxson, the William Kenan Jr. Professor of Anthropology, and head of MIT Anthropology, provides foundational thinking about how her field of anthropology — the scientific study of humanity including societies, behavior, cultural meaning, norms, and values — understands the concept of culture. This article is the first in a series in which faculty and staff share ideas, stories, and research-based commentary on the nature of culture and their experiences as part of the MIT community. Anthropology is the study of human cultural diversity. Anthropologists originated the…
