Theory of culture change the methodology of multilinear evolution julian h steward university of illinois press urbana 1955 244 pp 5 tables 400 volume 22 issue 2part1 robert m adams. Book reviews general and theoretical theory oj culture change the methodology of multilinear evolutiolzjulian h stew reviewed by leslie a white university oj michigan theory of culture chaltge is not a single treatise on theories or a theory of culture change rather it is a collection of a dozen essays most of which were written at vari. Theory of culture change the methodology of multilinear evolution in a collection of papers spanning some 20 years of work steward argues persuasively that cultural change consists of complex continuing processes rather than isolable acts or events of unitary character diffusion versus independent invention. Leslie whites the evolution of culture 1959 and julian stewards theory of culture change 1955 reflect the early foun proponents of the materialist paradigm look at the infrastructure structure and superstructure that keep people alive hold society together and give life meaning in any given society