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A brilliant example of the comparative method, The Gift 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,... Read Full Overview

Scan down a list of essential works in any introduction to anthropology course and you are likely to see Marcel Mauss' masterpiece, The Gift. With this new translation, Mauss' classic essay is returned to its original context, published alongside the works that framed... Read Full Overview

When first published, The Gift served as nothing less than an onslaught on contemporary political theory. This edition confirms the continuing relevance of Mauss's highly original perspective.

The Gift is a short book by the French sociologist Marcel Mauss that is the foundation of social theories of reciprocity and gift exchange.

Mauss's original piece was entitled Essai sur le don. Forme et raison de l' change dans les soci t s archa ques ("An essay on the... Read Full Overview

Since its first publication in English in 1954, The Gift, Marcel Mauss's groundbreaking study of the relation between forms of exchange and social structure, has been acclaimed as a classic among anthropology texts.

The Gift is a short book by the French sociologist Marcel Mauss that is the foundation of social theories of reciprocity and gift exchange.

Mauss's original piece was entitled Essai sur le don. Forme et raison de l' change dans les soci t s archa ques ("An essay on the... Read Full Overview

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely... Read Full Overview

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely... Read Full Overview