Marcel Mauss (1872-1950), Durkheim's nephew, was a key figure among the Durkheimians and helped to found the distinctive French tradition in the social sciences at the start of the 20th century. He dominated the teaching of social anthropology in Paris between the Wars, however it is only recently that the breadth and freshness of his oeuvre is gaining wider appreciation. Having found inspiration in Mauss's texts for over twenty years, the author explores not only what he thought but also how his ideas can be developed and applied in new ways. Thus Durkheim and Mauss's notion of "primitive classification" often misunderstood, is well exemplified by Indo-European ideology as analysed by Georges Dumezil and current comparativists, and it is argued that this ancient ideology influenced the Durkheimian classification of "social facts".
Table of Contents:
Preface and Acknowledgements
Abbreviations and Conventions Used in Notes
Introduction
N.J. Allen
Chapter 1. Preliminary Remarks
Difficulties of Ethnographic Investigation
Principles of Observation
Chapter 2. Methods of Observation
Methods of Observation
Morphological and Cartographic Method
Photographic Method
Phonographic Method
Philological Method
Sociological Method
Chapter 3. Social Morphology
Chapter 4. Technology
Techniques of the Body
General Techniques with General Uses
Mechanical Techniques: Tools; Instruments; Machines; Fire
Special Techniques with General Uses or General Industries with Special Uses
Basketry; Pottery; Esparto Goods and Rope Making; Glues and Resins; Weaponry: Weight Weapons and Offensive Weapons; Offensive Weapons; Projectiles; Protective Armour; Parade Armoury
Specialised Industries with Special Uses
Industries of Consumption: Meals; Cooking; Ideology of Food; Condiments; Drinks; Industries of Acquisition: Gathering; Hunting; Fishing; Industries of Production: Stockbreeding; Agriculture; Industries of Protection and Comfort: Clothing (Decoration of Clothes, Fabrics); Building (Types and Materials, Functional and Morphological Study, Purpose of Buildings, Agglomeration); Industries of Transportation: Communication Routes; Porterage; Water Transport
Chapter 5. Aesthetics
Play
Physical Games; Verbal Games The Arts Plastic Arts: Cosmetics; Finery
Ornamentation of Everyday Objects, Movable and Immovable
Ideal Arts
Musical Arts: Dance; Music and Singing; Drama; Poetry; Prose
Chapter 6. Economic Phenomena
Production Distribution and Consumption Currency
Chapter 7. Jural Phenomena
Methods of Observation
Social and Political Organisation
Primary forms of Social Organisation: Monarchy; Chiefdoms; Democracy; Secondary Forms of Social Organisation
Society of Men; Secret Societies; Castes and Classes
Domestic Organisation
Phratries; The Clan; The Family; Marriage: Marriage Ceremonies; Married Life; Divorce; Bereavement
Moral Phenomena in Marriage
Property
Immovables; Movables
Contract Law
Criminal Law
Judicial Organisation and Procedure
Chapter 8. Moral Phenomena
Chapter 9. Religious Phenomena
Religious Phenomena in the Strict Sense
Public Cults: Totemism; Major Tribal Cults; Private Cults: Domestic Cults; Individual Private Cults; Rites: Manual Rites; Oral Rites; Negative Rites; Religious Representations: Representations of Natural Beings and Phenomena; Representations of Spiritual Beings; Myths, Legends and Tales; Religious Organisation Religious Phenomena in the Broad Sense Magic; Divination; Popular Superstitions
Indexes
Peoples
Periods
Places
Languages
Individuals and Writers
About the Author :
N. J. Allen (1939-2020) was a Social Anthropologist who worked mostly in the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology (ISCA), the University of Oxford, and at Wolfson College.
Review :
“The excavation and reconstruction of Maussian meanings proves richly gratifying to the intellectual archaeologist.” • American Anthropologist
“Many of the items in this book are thought-provoking … One of its strengths is the insights it frequently gives into the divergences between Mauss's and Durkheim's thought.” • Anthropological Theory
“This is an important book … by paying attention to the cultural construction of violence across time we can hope to be better able to explain the complex social dynamics that give rise to the actual use of violence.” • Anthropological Theory
