Marcel Mauss Essays

for exchange in archaic societies’, Marcel Mauss discusses his insights into the exchange of goods and material objects between people, and how it contributes to forming relationships. Marilyn Strathern’s understanding of kinship and reproduction in chapter one of ‘Reproducing the future; essays on anthropology, kinship and the new reproductive technologies’, helps support Mauss’ text, as the theme of reciprocity is crucial in giving structure to kinship. Mauss states that “contractual gifts in Samoa

Sociologist Marcel Mauss wrote “The Gift” in 1925 to analyze this question. He argued that the ritual of gift giving fulfills several key social obligations. Mauss believed that gift giving is an organising principle of social cohesion and act as social glue. For him gift giving is usually used to establish or strengthen an alliance or to achieve reconciliation. It is therefore a moral transaction connected to the individual or group relationships rather than an economic one. Mauss looked in detail

There are many contributing factors to the theme of “The Necklace”, a short story written by Guy de Maupassant. Three of these factors are characterization, plot, and motif. “The Necklace” takes place in France and is about a woman named Madame Loisel. She constantly dreams about being rich and spends most of her time sulking about the amazing life that she doesn’t have. When her husband gives her an invitation to a very fancy ball, Mme. Loisel borrows a diamond necklace from her friend, Mme. Forestier

1 (a) Sociology is defined as the systematic study of the interaction between groups of humans or the scientific study of a community of people living together and their behaviour as a group (Perry and Perry, 2008). Sociology aims to interpret and understand the interaction of the individual with others or a person's behaviour as he or she interacts with the social environment. In this sense the individual and society are inseparable. The key concerns in Sociology include social groups (i.e. family

Kevin McCowen 13347796 Outline & assess goffmans dramaturgical approach, in your answer you should consider how these ideas can be applied to everyday life. “Life its self is a dramatically enacted thing” – Goffman (1959:72) Intro Goffman, where he was from, his influences and how these shaped his dramaturgical approach. Goffman spent 3 years in a mental institution in Bethseda Maryland. Goffmans Dramaturgical Approach Throughout his work on symbolic interactionism and dramaturgy one key thing

A Critical Analysis and Application of the Functionalist Theory The functionalist perspective is based largely on the works of Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton. The idea of the perspective is quite simple. It is that, as the human body system works, the institutions in the society works interdependently for the proper functioning of the whole; the whole being the entire society. A number of key concepts underpin Functionalism. The primary concepts within Functionalism

1. According to Marcel Mauss, a French sociologist and Emile Durkheim’s nephew, there are three obligations of the “gift”. They are to give gifts to people out of ones own volition, to receive a gift when given a gift and to reciprocate by giving a gift when a gift is received. Gifts are links between people, things and other people. It promotes comradery and good will. People make/build/buy elaborate or prestigious items and present it to other people. Different societies differs in not only the

Have you ever dreamed to live well? Or Did you know someone who has lived a good life? If so, how can you define a good life? According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the good life can be defined as “a life marked by a high standard of Living. The good life can be defined as a way that someone plans to live virtuously by having a great education, enough money, and helping others. In other words, the good life means to me when life looks like a blessing than a burden. This essay aims to provide

“Parting is such sweet sorrow,” William Shakespeare writes in Romeo and Juliet, one of his most famous tragedies, as the two titular leads bid farewell to each other until their next meeting. The sorrow of the two characters are described as a sweet kind of lament, and truly, only those who in love become privileged to experience this sorrow, but is it only sweet because they both know for a fact that their longing will only last until they next lay eyes on each other? Would parting, then, still

Intrapersonal conflicts are conflicts that an individual experiences psychologically and this conflict involves one’s “thoughts, values, principles, and emotion” (Evans par 3). This type of conflict is very difficult to deal with if one cannot understand their struggles, and this leads to “uneasiness, or can even cause depression” (Evans par 3). As these disputes compile over time the more unpredictable that individuals behavior can become. In the short story The Man Who Jumped Into The Water, suggests

Traveling through the river of art history, there has been one consist subject, or we can call it a convention. That is the nudity. From ancient art through the modern art, the nudity has been viewed as one of the major composition. The mythology and religious spirits can be perfectly shown on the body of human. In humanist’s point of view, the naked human body, especially women’s soft and gentle body, is the most beautiful subject since the cloths would cover this pure sense of prettiness. The purpose

be my idea of what is real.” Instead of painting a fork, he placed the fork on the painting. Instead of painting a hand, he would place his handprint on a piece. They were still paintings, they were whatever he as the artist believed they were. As Marcel Duchamp, one of his biggest influences, believed, "I don 't believe in art. I believe in

Action Painting, Pop Art, Happenings, Installations and Conceptual Art. The main artists associated with Dada were Hugo Ball, Tristan Tzara, Marcel Janco, Richard Huelsenbeck, Jean (Hans) Arp, Raoul Hausmann, Hannah Höch, John Heartfield, Kurt Schwitters, Johannes Baargeld, Johannes Baader, Max Ernst, George Grosz, Hans Richter, Francis Picabia, Man Ray and Marcel

Love is a concept that can be expressed in many different forms. Some people can be happy with love, while others may be angry with love. Robert Frost’s sonnet “Hyla Brook” shows one side of love. The sonnet is about how there used to be a brook, but it is no longer there so the only people that will know of it are the ones who have been there. Love is also talked about in the short story “Gregory”, by Panos Ioannides. The story is about a relationship the narrator has with a prisoner named Gregory

Marcel DuChamp once said “I don’t believe in art. I believe in artist.” In his insistence that art should be driven by ideas above all, Marcel Duchamp is generally considered to be the father of Conceptual Art. Marcel DuChamp was born in 1887 to a family of artists. He was raised in Normany, France, where he played chess, enjoyed reading, painting, and music. He joined his older brothers in Paris to study painting at the Academie Julian. He really seemed to enjoy the influences of Fauvism, Cubism

In Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, Lily Briscoe is heavily influenced and discouraged by cultural expectations relating to her gender. As an aspiring artist, Lily works tirelessly on her painting, but she is constantly criticized by those around her. Charles Tansley explicitly states that only men can excel at art and, because Lily is a woman, she will never be successful. Additionally, Lily is always worried that Mr. Ramsey is dissatisfied with her art. Because of outside influences, Lily’s

Imagine having a book in your hand and you are trying to read that book. As a student of literature what comes to your mind? I would immediately think of all the terms that we are learning in class. Things I remember most are aspects of stories such as setting, plot, characterization among others. These terms are what describe literary analysis. According to arrowhead schools, literary analysis is the practice of looking closely at small parts to see how they affect the whole. It focuses on how plot/structure

Have you ever experienced both happiness and sorrow at the same time? Walt Whitman, in “O Captain! My Captain!,” incorporates sadness over the death of President Lincoln and happiness about the victory of the North and the end of the Civil War. The Civil War (1861-1865) was set on American soil where Americans fought against Americans. The North (Union) wanted unity of the country and the end of slavery, while the South (Confederacy) wanted separation and the continuation of slavery. The war ended

Both poets are very similar to each other in a way that both of them lived in the nineteenth century. "The two giants of 19th-century American poetry who played the greatest role in redefining modern verse are Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson (Burt)". Both Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman are considered as the founders of today’s modern American poetry, whose they put the keystone, and which was further developed by other poets over the years. The poetry has been redefined. The modern poetry becomes

This essay will attempt to explore the confrontation between the movements, which appeared to be against the established definitions of art, and the idea of aesthetics in it. In order to define the main reasons and ways of having the influence on the notion of traditions, many so-called anti-art movements tried to challenge the whole subject of art to demonstrate new understanding and perception of it. To achieve this, these movements used unusual methods of entering a protest and investigating unfamiliar