Marcel Mauss : a centenary tribute / edited by Wendy James and N.J. Allen.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

James, Wendy, editor.

Allen, N. J., editor.

Series:

Methodology and history in anthropology Marcel Mauss

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mauss, Marcel, 1872-1950--Congresses.

Mauss, Marcel.

Anthropology--Philosophy--Congresses.

Anthropology.

Gifts--Congresses.

Gifts.

Ceremonial exchange--Congresses.

Ceremonial exchange.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 260 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

New York ; London : Berghahn Books, [1998]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Marcel Mauss, successor of Emile Durkheim and one-time teacher of Claude Levi-Strauss, continues to inspire social scientists across various disciplines. Only selected texts of Mauss's work have been translated into English, but of these, some, as for instance his "Essay on the Gift," have proved of key significance for the development of anthropology internationally. Recently and starting in France, the interest in Mauss's work has increased noticeably as witnessed by several reassessments of its relevance to current social theory. This collection of original essays is the first to introduce the English-language reader to the current re-evaluation of his ideas in continental Europe. Themes include the post-structuralist appraisal of "exchange", the anthropology of the body, practical techniques, gesture systems, the notions of substance, materiality, and the social person. There are fresh insights into comparative politics and history, modern forms of charity, and new readings of some political and historical aspects of Mauss's work that bear on the analysis of regions such as Africa and the Middle East, relatively neglected by the Durkheimian school and by structuralism. This volume is a timely tribute to mark the centenary of Mauss' early work and confirms the continuing relevance of his ideas.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Introductory essay

Chapter 1. ‘ONE OF US’

The scholar and his time

Chapter 2. AN INTELLECTUAL SELF-PORTRAIT

Chapter 3. MAUSS’S JEWISH BACKGROUND

Foundations of Maussian anthropology

Chapter 4. A VAGUE BUT SUGGESTIVE CONCEPT

Chapter 5. THE MAUSSIAN SHIFT

Chapter 6. DERRIDA’S READING OF MAUSS

Critiques of exchange and power

Chapter 7. UNCERTAINTIES OF THE ‘OBLIGATION TO RECIPROCATE’

Chapter 8. MUTUAL DECEPTION

Chapter 9. MODERN PHILANTHROPY

Chapter 10. MAUSS, DUMONT, AND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN STATUS AND POWER

Materiality, body, history

Chapter 11. THE CATEGORY OF SUBSTANCE

Chapter 12. THE STUDY OF TECHNIQUES AS AN IDEOLOGICAL CHALLENGE

Chapter 13. FORM, MOVEMENT, AND POSTURE IN MAUSS

Chapter 14. MAUSS IN AFRICA

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. Reading Mauss in French

B. Work by Mauss available in English

C. Selected secondary sources

CONTRIBUTORS

INDEX

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (pages [249]-251) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781789205695

1789205697

9781571817051

1571817050

9781571817037

1571817034

OCLC:

1147273837