Marcel Mauss : a centenary tribute / edited by Wendy James and N.J. Allen
1998, 1st edition. New York : Berghahn Books. Near fine copy in the original stiff-card wrappers; edges very slightly dust-dulled and toned. Remains particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Item #323323
ISBN: 1571817050
Physical description: xii, 260 pages: illustrations; 23 cm. Summary: Marcel Mauss, successor of Emile Durkheim and one-time teacher of Claude Levi-Strauss, continues to inspire social scientists across various disciplines. Recently and starting in France, the interest in Mauss' 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 reevaluation 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' 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.Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-251) and index. Contents: "One of us": Marcel Mauss and "English" anthropology / Wendy James -- An intellectual self-portrait / Marcel Mauss -- Mauss's Jewish background: a biographical essay / W.S.F. Pickering -- A vague but suggestive concept: the "total social fact" / Alexander Gofman -- The Maussian shift: a second foundation for sociology in France? / Bruno Karsenti -- Derrida's reading of Mauss / Tim Jenkins -- Uncertainties of the "obligation to reciprocate": a critique of Mauss / Alain Testart -- Mutual deception: totality, exchange, and Islam in the Middle East / Paul Dresch -- Modern philanthropy: reassessing the viability of Maussian perspective / Ilana Silber -- Mauss, Dumont, and the distinction between status and power / Jonathan Parry -- The category of substance: a Maussian theme revisited / N.J. Allen -- The study of techniques as an ideological challenge: technology, nation, and humanity in the work of Marcel Mauss / Nathan Schlanger -- Form, movement, and posture in Mauss: themes for today's anthropology / Claudine Haroche -- Mauss in Africa: on time, history and politics / Wendy James. Subjects: Mauss, Marcel 1872-1950; Congresses. Anthropology Philosophy; Congresses. Gifts; Congresses. Ceremonial exchange; Congresses. Anthropology Philosophy. Ceremonial exchange. Genre:
Bibliography. Conference publication. Illustrated.
Price: €35.00