A seasonal reading. 3.7 out of 5 stars 13. I read this during graduate school. Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies study guide. Some technical issues: this book requires a sharp concentration due to a large number of footnotes—which annoyingly printed in the back of the essay. Simple gestures such as making eye contact, murmuring greetings, shaking hands, introducing ourselves, saying thank you, are all examples of rituals required to keep societies together. The Gift may best be understood within the context of Marcel Mauss’s attempt to develop a sociological approach to economic phenomena. But there are other openings here, ones which do more to unsettle what are still taken to be a priori bases of any economy, and which let us think of value differently. Against the cold calculations of utilitarians and the wildest excesses of ethnographer’s images. View The Gift- Anthro3ac.pdf from ANTHRO 3 at University of California, Berkeley. As an anthropologist who had never done any fieldwork (maybe because he was sociologist after all), Mauss analysis on the gift exchange—from potlatch to kula exchange—is sharp and empirically overlaps with the praxis of everyday life. Mauss describes gift giving in the context of Melanesian, Polynesian, and Northwest Coast Indian contexts. Marcel Mauss THE GIFT: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies ©1967, Norton Library I have never found a man so generous and hospitable that he would not receive a present, nor one so liberal with his money that he would dislike a reward if he could get one. Marcel Mauss’ “The Gift” (1925) is one of the most influential pieces of anthropology written in the twentieth century. The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies by Marcel Mauss discusses the significance and meaning of giving gifts in ancient societies. The first red flag raced to the top of the flagpole in the Translator's Note before the main event: 'In the French edition the compendious notes were printed on the text pages. Mauss describes gift giving in the context of Melanesian, Polynesian, and Northwest Coast Indian contexts. The Gift is a classic of anthropological literature. Read intro and conclusion, which are excellent, pretty boring in the middle. Because gift exchange becomes a norm and throws light on relations with these individuals and their acceptance and life among this group and yjeir future prosperity. very deep philosophical work written with such lucidity, throwing light at the moral fabric of our societies based the ordinary theme"gift". Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published One could argue with the author’s insinuation that gifts are “monstrous,” because there are several instances where giving is not driven by selfish ambitions or competition—for instance, a gift from a parent to a child. Friends should rejoice each others’ hearts with gifts of weapons and Marcel Mauss THE GIFT: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies ©1967, Norton Library (translated from original 1925 text) CHAPTER IV CONCLUSIONS I. This specific edition, with an introduction by Mary Douglas (a magnificent anthropologist in her own right), is especially recommended, and sheds a tremendous amount of light on Mauss’ sometimes unclear conclusions. The Gift Marcel Mauss Programme Exchanges and contracts take place in the form of presents; voluntary in theory but His concluding concern is the gift as a total social phenomenon, engaging and pervading all aspects of a society, a perspective as relevant today as in 1925. After Rome, there was money. Giving, according to Mauss is not a strictly selfless behavior, but rather we give to receive, whether directly from the giftee or the universe/society (God). The Gift is a classic of anthropological literature. The Trobriand Islands, Entrecasteaux Islands, and Amphlett Islands were areas all involved in a complex "potlatch" system. A friend recommended this book to me after I published The Mind Share Market. Detailed examples from ancient cultures around the world demonstrate the universal importance of customs surrounding giving. In his discussion, Mauss claims that giving gifts was primarily driven by competition and selfish ambitions. This post is part of the Art as Gift Project. Mauss mentions Maori, Tongan, Mangerevan, and Tahitian societies in relation to the concept of the tonga, or the nature of the perceived value of possessions. Mauss' Essay on the Gift, in this book presented alongside his accounts and reviews of his contemporaries, has been highly influential, but also much misinterpreted, in the social sciences. Mauss contends that gifts have to be reciprocated and implies that givers of gifts always expect something in return. Against the cold calculations of utilitarians and the wildest excesses of ethnographer’s images of potlatch, he dreams of moderation, balance, civility, the Arthurian round table. Within these broader areas, tribes and various peoples are referenced in comparison to each other. This book was a great read. Since ancient societies people have used informal barter systems, highlighting that regardless of the specific culture there is a sense of moral transactions. It explores the economies of pre-capitalist cultures and peoples from several different parts of the world, including Melanesia, Polynesia, and the Pacific Northwest. I read this during graduate school. The Dayak people are offered as an example of how central giving—specifically, sharing meals in this instance—can be to a society's laws and moral codes. Mauss was born in Épinal, Vosges to a Jewish family, and studied philosophy at Bordeaux, where his uncle Émile Durkheim was teaching at the time and agregated in 1893. ©2020 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The New Caledonians embody the "potlatch" system; Fiji, New Guinea, and much of Papua practiced a "potlatch" system. The Pygmies—cited as one of the most ancient civilizations—engaged in a competitive and obligatory exchange of gifts. But this YA book was short and sweet. Very good and thought-provoking book that gives insight into how relations are made because thez are based on superioritz inferioritz and egality among members of a group. Mauss attempts to break down an institution that he considers to represent a "total social phenomenon", that is it to say that it affects political, economic, religious, and ethical aspects of society. The text is a about the reasons, patterns and practices of exchanging gifts in “archaic societies”. Interesting implications for charitable giving. Mauss produced so many brilliant works, but if you had to choose one as his magnum opus, this would surely be it. The fundamental take away for me, nearly 30 years later, is how little each of us still reflects on the importance of giving, even token or symbolic giving, in keeping the social fabric intact. Marcel Mauss' book "The Gift" The Importance of the Gif t Marcel Mauss’ book “The Gift” is a comparative study of the institution of the gift in different primitive and archaic cultures. Paperback. The Gift the Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies Marcel Mauss. The motivations for reciprocity are studied from sociological, economic, and moral perspectives. First thing first. The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies content, as well as access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. His most famous work is The Gift (1925). Giving, according to Mauss is not a strictly selfless behavior, but rather we give to receive, whether directly from the giftee or the universe/s. Its literally an oxymoron. In fact, if you can’t read the book, Douglas’ introduction stands by itself as a wonderful summary of Mauss’ ideas. His argument is both economically evolutionary, and functionalist. The “moral conclusions” that Mauss arrived at when projecting the “total services”/gift logics found in ethnographies of Polynesian, Melanesian, and Pacific Northwest societies (and in archaic law codes) back onto mid-twentieth-century France were distinctly centrist (“the individual must work,” he declares, comparing the impacts of communism to the message of a “malevolent genie” in the same breath). Interesting ideas and among the most accessible anthropological writings I know (and a classic, too). Every gift has to be returned in some specific ways, set up a perpetual cycle of exchanges within and between generations, at least in the simple societies. Mauss' Essay on the Gift, in this book presented alongside his accounts and reviews of his contemporaries, has been highly influential, but also much misinterpreted, in the social sciences. Mauss attempts to break down an institution that he considers to represent a "total social phenomenon", that is it to say that it affects political, economic, religious, and ethi. I don't know if it was because I am fascinated by anthropology or because it's a rather easy read. So much for good faith. His first publication in 1896 marked the beginning of a prolific career. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. by W. W. Norton Company, Essai sur le don: forme et raison de l'échange dans les sociétés archaïques. In a modern translation, introduced by distinguished anthropologist Mary Douglas, The Gift is essential reading for students of social anthropology and sociology. You'll get access to all of the Mauss notes: But, just as the Trobrian kula is only an extreme case of the exchange of gifts, so the potlatch in societies living on the Northwest American coast is only a kind of monstrous product of the system of presents. The essay is an exploration of gift exch. After almost a century ago this essay was published, his critique of political economy is eerily still relevant. $17.00. I still don't understand why it is praised as one of the most prolific pieces of anthropological work. In this expanded edition of Marcel Mauss seminal work, Jane I. Guyer's translation and annotations provide important contributions to the restoration of Mauss' original framework. In this treatise, Mauss examines one's obligation to return the favor when he or she receives a gift in archaic civilizations. The part about this is very interesting, but it gets even more fascinating when the connection to western culture is made: How the classic roman law had elements of modern contracts as well as gift-giving and how the gift-giving culture is still much alive today (I would say most still applies, even though the book is from 1950). Welcome back. The areas of Northeastern Siberia and Western Alaska are especially noted for their reciprocity to nature and to the gods which they believe in. An excellent text. Marcel Mauss. Finished it in a day. There's no such thing as free gift. Mauss had a significant influence upon Claude Lévi-Strauss, the founder of structural anthropology. An excellent text. Before Rome, there was trade and an honor code. Which to be fair is my stance on anthropology as a whole. 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