Leshkowich Homepage
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Study Guide Questions for Readings
February 12 (M), February 14 (W), February 16 (F), February 19 (M), February 21 (W)
1. Why does Mauss see exchange as linking not just persons and things, but different persons with each other? What are the moral and economic obligations surrounding gift exchange?
2. How does Mauss characterize pre-capitalist societies? How does his view compare to that of Polanyi, formalists, Scott, or Chayanov?
3. Mauss ends his book by criticizing Western European capitalism for being "at odds with morality" (66). What, specifically, does he mean by this? Do you agree?
4. What does Mauss mean by a "total social fact"? Why is gift exchange one of these total social facts?
5. According to Weiner, how do exchanges of cloth in Samoa and the Trobriand Islands relate to politics, matriliny, and gender? Why are some items inalienable? How does her view of exchange differ from that of Mauss and Malinowski?
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For more information, contact: aleshkow@holycross.edu
