A study of cultural influences on the transmission of education and the ways in which people use education to meet the challenges of their unique daily experiences. Founded on an understanding of a fundamental distinction between “Culture” and “cultures”, it examines how the processes of education and enculturation are related and inform each other. It draws upon the methods and core concepts of cultural anthropology to analyze the formal and informal institutions that bear on the educational process.

In this era of increased religious fundamentalism and scientific skepticism, little time is devoted to a sober investigation into, and understanding of, the essence of religion. Yet, for good or for ill, religion is an effective part of our sociocultural development. Today, religiously-inspired political systems (theocracies) and ideologies are competing with secular ones for the control of national and global power. Today, creationism is being offered in high schools as a preferable explanation of life on earth to evolution. Today, religiously-driven violence employs scientific technology to destroy human life and property in order to protect religious tenets. Such a powerful force in human society cannot be ignored. There is, therefore, an urgent need to understand religion in its essence and manifestation.

The study of various genres of creative musical production within given cultures in order to understand patterns of creativity and adjustment.