Anthropology of Gifts and Giving: Selfless or Selfish? (FYS)
ANTH 103F
Spring 2024
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01
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What is a gift? A commonplace understanding is that a gift is something given gratuitously, selflessly, and without the expectation of a return (just look the word up in any dictionary). Why, then, upon receiving a gift, do we feel indebted to the giver? And rather than free and gratuitous, isn't most gift giving compelled by socially significant events and regulated by relatively rigid rules? This FYS is an in-depth examination of gift giving as one of the most powerful forces binding individuals and groups in society into relationships of reciprocity. Students become familiar with critical anthropological and philosophical debates about the gift and consider their application to contemporary forms of giving, including traditional gift-giving events, sacrifice, philanthropy, volunteering and voluntourism, international aid, and types of giving made possible by advances in technology, such as organ donation and surrogacy. We attend to the economic, political, ethical, cultural, gender, and personal dimensions of gift giving in their remarkable power to make and break social bonds and undo or reinforce hierarchical relations at all levels of local and global society. Students draw a deeper understanding of the connection between generosity and power to inform their own ethics of gift giving, sharing of wealth, and sense of responsibility, wellbeing, and place in the world. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS ANTH |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (ANTH) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 90% or above |
| SECTION 01 | | Special Attributes: FYS |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Readings include anthropological and philosophical works by Marcel Mauss, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Bronislaw Malinowski, Georges Bataille, Luce Irigaray, Jacques Derrida, Gayle Rubin, Janice Raymond, and David Graeber as well as media accounts of notable gift-giving events.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Class discussion of readings, short papers, and guided research, writing, and presentations. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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| Instructor(s): Gandolfo,Daniella Times: ..T.R.. 10:20AM-11:40AM; Location: FISK312; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: X | JR major: X | | |
| Seats Available: 4 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: X | JR non-major: X | SO: X | FR: 15 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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