The Culture of Giving: Informal Support and Gift-Exchange in Early Modern England

ISBN-13: 9780521867238 / Angielski / Twarda / 2008 / 440 str.

Ben-Amos, Ilana Krausman

Opis

An innovative study of gift-giving, informal support and charity in England between the late sixteenth and early eighteenth centuries. Ilana Krausman Ben-Amos examines the adaptation and transformation of varied forms of informal help, challenging long-held views and assumptions about the decline of voluntary giving and personal obligations in the transition from medieval to modern times. Merging historical research with insights drawn from theories of gift-giving, the book analyses practices of informal support within varied social networks, associations and groups over the entire period. It argues that the processes entailed in the Reformation, state formation and the implementation of the poor laws, as well as market and urban expansion, acted as powerful catalysts for many forms of informal help. Within certain boundaries, the early modern era witnessed the diversification, increase and invigoration, rather than the demise, of gift-giving and informal support.

Recenzje

Review of the hardback: 'The Culture of Giving is a fascinating and wide-ranging treatment of an elusive topic: gifting, charity and networks in early modern England.' Local Population Studies

Spis treści

Introduction; Part I. Social Spaces and Reciprocities: 1. Parents and offspring; 2. Networks of support; 3. Parishes, guilds, associations; 4. The charitable gift; Part II. The Economy of Giving: 5. Cultivating the obligation to give; 6. Honour and reputation; 7. Discourses of giving; 8. The perils of gifts; Part III. The State, Markets and Gifts: 9. Evolving boundaries; 10. The invigoration of informal support; Conclusion.