内容简介
Inthisclassicwork,Maussarguedthatgiftsarenever"free".Rather,humanhistoryisfullofexamplesthatgiftsgiverisetoreciprocalexchange.Thefamousquestionthatdrovehisinquiryintotheanthropologyofthegiftwas:"Whatpowerr
作者简介
MausswasborninEpinaltoaJewishfamily,andstudiedphilosophyatBordeaux,whereÉmileDurkheimwasteachingatthetimeandagregatedin1893.Insteadoftakingtheusualrouteofteachingatalycée,however,MaussmovedtoParisandtookupthestudyofcomparativereligionandtheSanskritlanguage.Hisfirstpublicationin1896markedthebeginningofaprolificcareerthatwouldproduceseverallandmarksinthesociologicalliterature.LikemanymembersofAnnéeSociologiqueMausswasattractedtosocialism,particularlythatespousedbyJeanJaurès.HewasparticularlyactiveintheeventsoftheDreyfusaffairandtowardstheendofthecenturyhehelpededitsuchleft-wingpapersaslePopulaire,l'HumanitéandleMouvementSocialiste,thelastincollaborationwithGeorgesSorel.Mausstookupachairinthe'historyofreligionanduncivilizedpeoples'attheEcolePratiquedesHautesEtudesin1901.Itwasatthistimethathebegandrawingmoreandmoreonethnography,andhisworkbeganincreasinglytolooklikewhatwewouldtodaycallanthropology.TheyearsofWorldWarIwereabsolutelydevastatingforMauss.Manyofhisfriendsandcolleaguesdiedinthewar,andDurkheimdiedshortlybeforeitsend.ThepostwaryearswerealsodifficultpoliticallyforMauss.DurkheimhadmadechangestoschoolcurriculumsacrossFrance,andafterhisdeathabacklashagainsthisstudentsbegan.LikemanyotherfollowersofDurkheim,Mausstookrefugeinadministration,securingDurkheim'slegacybyfoundinginstitutionssuchasl'InstitutFrançaisdeSociologie(1924)andl'Institutd'Ethnologiein1926.In1931hetookupthechairofSociologyattheCollègedeFrance.Heactivelyfoughtagainstanti-semitismandracialpoliticsbothbeforeandafterWorldWarII.Hediedin1950.
