Culture Runs Deep

Culture shapes almost everything we do. Most of the time, we barely notice it.

Why do societies develop such different ideas about family, authority, success, morality and belonging? Why do traditions endure long after their original purpose has disappeared? And why is cultural change so difficult, even when the world around us is transforming?

Culture Runs Deep explores the powerful, often invisible forces that shape human behaviour and collective identity.

Examining the relationship between history, tradition, institutions, social expectations and everyday life, this book reveals how culture is inherited, reinforced, challenged and transformed across generations.

It considers the tension between individual freedom and collective expectations, the influence of cultural narratives on institutions, and the ways communities preserve their identities in an age of rapid global change.

Written for curious readers who want to understand why people and societies behave as they do, Culture Runs Deep offers an accessible exploration of the foundations of human civilisation.

To understand the world around us, we must first understand the cultures beneath it.