Patterns of Culture

A remarkable introduction to cultural studies, Patterns of Culture is an eloquent declaration of the role of culture in shaping human life. In this fascinating work, the renowned anthropologist Ruth Benedict compares three societies - the Zuni of the southwestern United States, the Kwakiutl of western Canada, and the Dobuans of Melanesia - and demonstrates the diversity of behaviors in them. Benedict's ground-breaking study shows that a unique configuration of traits defines each human culture, and she examines the relationship between culture and the individual. Featuring prefatory remarks by Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, and Louise Lamphere, this provocative work ultimately explores what it means to be human.

For more than a generation, this pioneering book has been an indispensable introduction to the field of anthropology. Here, in her study of three sharply contrasting cultures, Benedict puts forward her famous thesis that a people's culture is an integrated whole, a "personality writ large."

Includes a preface from Margaret Mead.