The Varieties of Conceptualizing Culture: A Case of Jewish Israelis

Abstract

Cultural Episteme (CE) is a concept meant to represent a mental framework that systematically organizes cultural knowledge and choice. In the present study 80 Jewish Israeli participants from four adult age groups were interviewed regarding two cultural dilemmas which probed their CEs. Interpretation of the interviews supported the existence of four distinct, self-consistent CEs. These were named Monoculturalism, Pluralistic Relativism, Dialectic Multiculturalism, and Integral Uniculturalism. Distribution of the various CEs varied by age. The significance of the CE is discussed in terms of cultural orientations, identities, and development, and in the context of multicultural environments.