The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies

by Marcel Mauss

Overview

Since its first publication in English in 1954, Marcel Mauss's Essai sur le Don has been acclaimed as a classic among anthropology texts. A brilliant example of the comparative method, it presents the first systematic study of the custom -- widespread in primitive societies from ancient Rome to present-day Melanesia -- of exchanging gifts.

The gift is a perfect example of what Mauss calls a total social phenomenon, since it involves legal, economic, moral, religious, aesthetic, and other dimensions. He sees the gift exchange as related to individuals and groups as much as to the objects themselves, and his analysis calls into question the social conventions and economic systems that had been taken for granted for so many years.

In a modern translation, introduced by the distinguished anthropologist Mary Douglas, The Gift is essential reading for students of social anthropology and sociology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647997410
Publisher:	Bibliotech Press
Publication date:	07/14/2020
Pages:	148
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Marcel Mauss was a French sociologist and anthropologist. His work profoundly influenced the field of anthropology with respect to topics such as magic, sacrifice, and gift exchange in primitive cultures.

W. D. Halls was an author, educationist, and historian. He translated works by French authors, notably Marcel Mauss and Émile Durkheim, well into his retirement years.

Table of Contents

	Editorial note	vi
	Foreword	vii
	Introduction	1
1	The Exchange of Gifts and the Obligation to Reciprocate (Polynesia)	8
2	The Extension of this System: Liberality, honour, money	19
3	Survivals of These Principles in Ancient systems of Law and Ancient Economies	47
4	Conclusion	65
	Notes	84
	Introduction	84
Chapter 187
Chapter 297
Chapter 3137
Chapter 4154
	Name index	158
	Subject index	161

Editorial Reviews

'The Gift is quite undeniably the masterwork of Marcel Mauss, his most justly famous writing, and the work whose influence has been the deepest.' -Claude Lévi-Strauss

From the Publisher