Anotace
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 shaped their perception and practices of giving.