Annotation
The course will analyse modes of gift exchange in pre-modern Europe. It strives to deromanticize our contemporary idealized understanding of gift-giving as a purely altruistic practice. Thus, it will make use of the concepts of social and cultural anthropology and show how gift exchange worked in the societies in which individuals were more vulnerable and more dependent on each other than today. It will draw students´attention to the so-called ego-documents as useful sources for tracing economic behaviour, including the practices and ideas of gift exchange. We will ask what steps historical actors made to forge fair exchange deals and to cultivate more balanced relationships. We will explore what people donated most and in what ways their life stages and religious affilitions affected their perception and practices of giving.
1) Introduction
2) Theories of Gift Exchange I
3) Theories of Gift Exchange II
4) On the Concept of Ego-Documents
5) How to Write on Gift Exchange and Ego-Documents?
6) Gift Exchange and Life Cycles
7) Beyond Objects: Gift Exchange and Hospitality
8) Gift Exchange in the Post-Reformation Europe
9) Gifts in the Jewish Culture
10) Gifts in the Muslim Culture
11) Diplomatic Gifts and Power
12) Books as Gifts
13) Final Discussion and Conclusion