Poslední úprava: Mgr. Vratislav Kozák, Ph.D. (22.05.2019)
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
Poslední úprava: Mgr. Vratislav Kozák, Ph.D. (22.05.2019)
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
Studijní opory -
Poslední úprava: Mgr. Vratislav Kozák, Ph.D. (22.05.2019)
Mandatory:
BIEDERMANN, Z. - A. GERRITSEN - G. RIELLO (edd.): Global Gifts. The Material Culture of Diplomacy in Early Modern Eurasia, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
FULBROOK, M. - U. RUBLACK: In Relation: The “Social Self” and Ego-Documents, In: German History vol. 28, Issue 3, pp 263-272.
ISIN, E. - E. ÜSTÜNDAG: Wills, Deeds, Acts: Womenʼs Civic Gift Giving in Ottoman Istanbul, In: Gender, Place and Culture Issue 15, 2008, pp 519-532.
MAEGRAITH, J.: Communal Favourite Things: Food Gifts in Seventeenth Century Bohemia, In: G. JARITZ - I. MATSCHINEGG (edd.), My Favorite Things: Object Preferences in Medieval and Early Modern Material Culture, Berlin-Münster-Zürich-Wien-London, 2018 (in print).
MAUSS, M.: The Gift, London: Taylor & Francis, 1990.
TEPLITSKY, J.: A “Prince of the Land of Israel” in Prague: Jewish Philathropy, Patronage, and Power in Early Modern Europe and Beyond, In: Jewish History Issue 29, 2015, pp 245-271.
THOEN, I.: Strategic Affection? Gift Exchange of Seventeenth-Century Holland, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2006, pp 9-44.
Recommended:
DAVIS, N. Z.: The Gift in Sixteenth-Century France, Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2000.
KRAUSMAN BEN-AMOS, I.: The Culture of Giving. Informal Support and Gift-Exchange in Early Modern England, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
OZMENT, S.: The Bürgermeisterʼs Daughter. Scandal in a Sixteenth Century German Town, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996.
Poslední úprava: Mgr. Vratislav Kozák, Ph.D. (22.05.2019)
Mandatory:
BIEDERMANN, Z. - A. GERRITSEN - G. RIELLO (edd.): Global Gifts. The Material Culture of Diplomacy in Early Modern Eurasia, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
FULBROOK, M. - U. RUBLACK: In Relation: The “Social Self” and Ego-Documents, In: German History vol. 28, Issue 3, pp 263-272.
ISIN, E. - E. ÜSTÜNDAG: Wills, Deeds, Acts: Womenʼs Civic Gift Giving in Ottoman Istanbul, In: Gender, Place and Culture Issue 15, 2008, pp 519-532.
MAEGRAITH, J.: Communal Favourite Things: Food Gifts in Seventeenth Century Bohemia, In: G. JARITZ - I. MATSCHINEGG (edd.), My Favorite Things: Object Preferences in Medieval and Early Modern Material Culture, Berlin-Münster-Zürich-Wien-London, 2018 (in print).
MAUSS, M.: The Gift, London: Taylor & Francis, 1990.
TEPLITSKY, J.: A “Prince of the Land of Israel” in Prague: Jewish Philathropy, Patronage, and Power in Early Modern Europe and Beyond, In: Jewish History Issue 29, 2015, pp 245-271.
THOEN, I.: Strategic Affection? Gift Exchange of Seventeenth-Century Holland, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2006, pp 9-44.
Recommended:
DAVIS, N. Z.: The Gift in Sixteenth-Century France, Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2000.
KRAUSMAN BEN-AMOS, I.: The Culture of Giving. Informal Support and Gift-Exchange in Early Modern England, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
OZMENT, S.: The Bürgermeisterʼs Daughter. Scandal in a Sixteenth Century German Town, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996.
